wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: NWA Capital Combat ’90: Return of RoboCop
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-We have a NWA run starting with this show as the next WWF show is a SNME in late July. NWA offers up Capital Combat this time as they are still working around the knee injury to Sting that wrecked all their plans. I am pretty certain this show was the first NWA PPV I ever rented on VHS. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Bob Caudle
-DC Armory, Washington D.C.
-May 19, 1990
-Attendance: 7500
-PPV Buys: 160,000
-Since we are in DC and it’s Armed Forces Day, they have a military band play The National Anthem.
-We get a wide shot and even opposite the hard cam has a bunch of open seats. There are apparently 7500 people in the building so there had to be a way to shoot that better. Wikipedia tells me The DC Armory held 10,000 so it should have looked better.
Kevin Sullivan, Cactus Jack, Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink) vs. The Road Warriors and Norman
-Norman is no longer announced as a Lunatic. Jack starts with Animal and it’s a lockup. Jack goes to the eyes, but after a few drop downs and leap frogs, Animal gets a power slam. Whip to the corner and Animal kind of gets a big boot to the face as their timing seemed a little off. Hawk gets the tag and rips Mick’s head off with a clothesline. Bigelow gets the tag and he locks up with Hawk. Bigelow gets a reverse in the corner, but misses a right hand. Bigelow fights back with a head-butt, Hawk responds with a dropkick. Tag to Sullivan and they try to trap Hawk into their corner, but he fights out and hits a clothesline to kick Sullivan down. Jack and Norman have a go and Norman gets a running splash in the corner and then one on the mat. Tag to Bigelow and the crowd pops as they wants the big men to throw down, but Norman tags Animal. They collide and neither budges. Bigelow misses a head-butt and gets a running clothesline to send both men to the floor. Bigelow lands on his feet and throws a railing around out of frustration. Back to Hawk and Bigelow fires off right hands. Jack in and he takes his first crazy bump as he goes clean over the top to the floor. Hawk off the apron with a clothesline. Jack gets tossed into the railing and goes FLYING over them into the first few rows of seats. Sweet! Hawk just casually throws the wooden steps at Jack. Hawk knew who he was in there with, and firing stairs at Jack is child’s play. Back in the ring Sullivan gets the advantage on Norman which lets Bigelow deliver a suplex for two. Sullivan back in and he gets a slam to show of his power. Jack with a clothesline and then come off the top with a double axe and then a neck snap on the top rope. MACHO CACTUS! Sullivan in and he stomps away and calls Animal a “son of a bitch,” to draw him into the ring. Nice! The crowd rallies behind Norman but Bigelow gets a backdrop as JR tells us fans are still filing into the building. Cactus in and he drops a knee, but Norman reverses a whip and gets a clothesline. HOT TAG to Animal and dropkick for Jack. Right hands for Bigelow and Sullivan. Flying shoulder from Animal and all six men start brawling. Hawk comes off the top with a clothesline on Sullivan for the pin at 9:18.
Winners: Norman and The Road Warriors via pin at 9:18
-This was a solidly fun tag match. Warriors are always good for a pop and for the crowd to be invested. Jack was flying all over the place and Norman gets the heat to build towards the RW making the save and winning the match. This was solid. **3/4
Johnny Ace vs. “Mean” Mark (w/ Teddy Long)
-Boy would these two go on to vastly different roles down the road. Jim Ross references Ozzy Osbourne as he notes Mark is a fan. Mark with a clothesline, but a dropkick by Johnny sends Mark to the floor. Ace with a dive over the top and then he gets the crowd to start a peanut head chant. Back in the ring Ace goes to work on the arm and drops some elbows. Mark misses a charge in the corner and then tries another and Ace gets a boot up to block. Ace off the middle ropes with a cross-body and then he hooks an armbar. Mark escapes and boots Ace to the floor where Long gets in a few shots. Mark sends Ace into the steps and gets a vertical suplex back in the ring. It got scary quiet there for a second! The suplex gets two for Mark and then he follows with a reverse kick. Long with another right hand from the outside. Ace gives chase, but Mark follows and slugs Ace down to the floor. Back in the ring Mark gets the leaping clothesline for a two count. He hooks a chinlock because that’s what I am missing from this match. Ace fights to his feet, but gets caught with a boot to the face. Mark drops a leg for two! Ace gets a small package for two and gets a boot to the the head for his trouble. Ace tries a dropkick, but Mark grabs the ropes to avoid. He drops an elbow for a two count and starts to choke away. Ace misses a splash in the corner, so Mark regains control. He chokes Ace on the middle ropes and he backs up to let Long get in a few more shots. Mark sets too early on a backdrop and Ace punts him. Dropkick from Ace and he hits a running shoulder. Ace heads up, but Mark ducks and Ace splats on the mat. HEART PUNCH is basically it, but Taker goes up, walks the top rope and drops an elbow for the pin at 10:40
Winner: “Mean” Mark via pin at 10:40
-This was okay and I found myself typing Taker every time I was writing about Mark. Probably went a little long and Mark should have squashed him a little more. *1/2
-Gordon Solie îs outside Sting’s dressing room where two guards are standing by. It seems RoboCop is with Sting and they make sure we see a blue light shining out the crack of the door and we hear “robot” noises. Sting has a big heart and is concerned about the Little Stingers!
-Tony Schiavone is backstage with The Rock N Roll Express and they have straps as they have a Corporal Punishment Match against The Freebirds!
”Captain” Mike Rotunda and “Wildfire” Tommy Rich vs. The Samoan Swat Team
-The bell sounds and then nothing for a bit as The Samoans yell at the crowd and take their time to do their prematch ceremony. While we wait Jim Ross mentions Ted Turner had a press conference to announce the signing of El Gigante. I see big things for his future! We finally get contact at 2:40 since the bell rang as Rich starts with The Samoan Savage. Lockup and Savage complains to the ref about a hair pull and plays to the crowd some more. They must be going long to be stalling this much. Savage lands an elbow to the head, but gets run down with a shoulder and then cross-body gets two for Rich. Savage bails to the corner to break and yells about a hair pull again. Fatu in with no tag and the crowd doesn’t like that. Rotunda in as well and Fatu offers a handshake, but Mike won’t bite. Rotunda plants Fatu face first on the match and hits a series of dropkicks that sends Fatu to the floor. Savage back in and he tries to convince the ref he was the legal man, but Anderson isn’t buying it. Fatu back in just so he can tag out to Savage. We are six minutes into this one and nothing of note has happened. Rotunda lands another dropkick and then drops an elbow to the back of the head. Tag to Rich who comes off the middle rope with a double ax. Savage misses a clothesline, but catches Rich with a power slam. Fatu tagged in and comes off the top, but misses a falling head-butt. Captain Mike back in and he lands a chop and then goes to work on the arm. Armdrag from Mike as he takes this to the mat. Rich back in and he gets backed into the wrong corner. Fatu throws a right and accidentally hits Savage. They hug it out and Savage is back in. Rich works the arm and now Rotunda comes off the top with an elbow. Savage catches Mike with a sidewalk slam and then we get some Samoan double teaming behind the ref’s back as he tries to get Rich out of the ring. Fatu with a vertical suplex for two. He pitches Mike to the floor and Savage hits a superkick. Back in the ring Fatu gets a clothesline and then Savage back in, who hooks a nerve hold. Great! I got up to get a glass of water as Savage switches to a front face-lock. Tag to Rich, but the ref missed it and he forces Rich back to the apron. The Samoans toss Mike over the top to the floor behind the ref’s back. All four men brawl on the floor for a bit and Fatu hits a sick Superkick on the floor. Savage misses a stomp in the ring, but makes the tag to Fatu and it’s another front face-lock. “Boring” chants start to ring out in the crowd and I can’t blame them. Mike start to fire back and hits a back elbow to leave both men down. Mike is right next to his corner, but turns the wrong way and Savage is in to cut off the tag. He hooks a chinlock, because why not? He gets a two count off that and uses the bottom rope for added leverage. Rich makes another tag, but again, the ref was focused on Fatu on the apron. The Samoans hit a double backdrop for two. Rotunda and Savage start trading blows. Mike with a clothesline and he finally makes the hot tag. Rich is on FIRE as he takes on both Samoans. He punches away on Fatu in the corner. Tommy hooks a sleeper while the ref tries to get Mike out of the ring. That lets Savage come off the top with a forearm to break up the sleeper and Fatu falls on top for the cover at 17:53.
Winners: The Samoan Swat Team via pin at 17:53
-This was rather dull as it appeared they had a 10 minute match and needed to stretch it another eight minutes. The super kicks looked great though! *
-Tony Schiavone is with The Steiner Brothers, who defend against Doom tonight. Not a good promo as they kind of rambled here, but Scott was still learning.
Hair vs. Hair: “Precious” Paul Ellering vs. “Sugar Ray” Theodore R. Long
-Missy Hyatt is out and with some dude named Jay Tapper, who will be shaving the head of the loser. Long is sporting boxing gloves and a headgear. I guess that makes this a Mixed Martial Arts Bout! Long uses the gloves to rake the eyes and gets a two count. Ellering grabs Long by the throat but the ref stops him from throwing a punch. Long lands another right with his gloves for a two count. Paul works the arm and removes the boxing glove. Ellering with a slam and then he swings for the fences with the loaded boxing glove and Long gets pinned at 1:57.
Winner: Paul Ellering via pin at 1:57
-Well, it was short and got a better reaction that the previous match. DUD
-The balding Teddy Long gets his hair cut and then uses the ref to hide under as he heads to the back.
-Tony Schiavone is with 3 of The Horsemen: Ole Anderson, Arn Anderson, and Sid (who joined since the Clash in February). Ole notes the Horsemen have never let a World Title leave the hands of Ric Flair. They bring Flair into the picture and he screams about Luger having to walk the aisle and pay the price. Sid doesn’t get to speak and just stands in the back, menacingly, while rocking a tuxedo. Arn drives home the point that they will die before letting Flair lose the World Title.
NWA United States Tag Team Titles: Brian Pillman (c) and Tom Zenk (c) vs. The Midnight Express (w/ James E Cornette)
-The stipulation here is that Jim Cornette is locked inside a shark cage at ringside. Well, at least they didn’t hang him above the ring. Cornette obviously won’t willingly go into the cage so he remains on the floor as all four men start brawling in the ring. Zenk and Pillman clear the ring and head to the floor to continue the fight. Cornette gets chased on the ring and runs right into the referee. Funny! Zenk and Pillman carry him and put him in the cage. Cornette: “I have to go to the bathroom.” Too funny! Pillman and Eaton start us proper and they lockup but nothing happening. Another go and Eaton lands a right hand, but Pillman responds with chops and a tackle. Leap-frog from Pillman into a dropkick. Lane comes in and eats one as well. All four back in the ring and Zenk and Pillman hit stereo monkey flips. Pillman slingshots from the apron and hits a double clothesline to send the Express back to the floor. They should have put a mic on Cornette while he was in the cage. Lane and Zenk now and Zenk gets a series of arm-drags. Eaton grabs Zenk, but Lane accidentally hits him with a dropkick. Lane gets bounced around and staggers to the wrong corner where Pillman decks him. The story so far is the ME are off kilter without Cornette being free to run around the ring. Pillman and Lane have a go and Pillman gets a sunset flip for two. Lane goes to the eyes and makes a tag to Eaton, who rushes in and gets caught with an armdrag into an armbar. Eaton uses the right hand to break and gets a sunset flip, but Pillman rolls through and then lands on his feet off a monkey flip attempt. Pillman with a dropkick as the ME can’t get on track right now. Lane back in and he stupidly rushes and it’s another armdrag. Zenk with an atomic drop on Lane that sends him into Eaton and they bail to talk to Cornette in the cage again. Apparently the advice from Cornette was to use KARATE as he catches Zenk with a kick to the gut. Tag to Eaton and hey, he rushes in and Zenk catches him with an armdrag. That’s getting kind of silly now. Unless that’s the point and they want it to be a running gag. Eaton goes to the hair to escape the armbar. Pillman gets the tag and comes off the top with a sunset flip for two. That really didn’t connect, but they covered nicely. Double backdrop on Eaton! Lane gets involved from the apron and Eaton accidentally gets dumped to the floor by his partner. Tough night for ME! Lane isn’t sure what to do and Zenk out wrestles him in the ring. Tag to Eaton and he rushes in, but a slam this time as they switching things up. Pillman gets the tag and comes off the middle ropes with a shot to Eaton’s arm. Eaton goes to the hair and tries a pin, but Pillman bridges up. He charges at Lane, who ducks and Pillman goes over the top the floor. Eaton seizes the chance and hits a neckbreaker on the floor. Pillman crawls to the apron and Lane knocks him off into the railing. Back in the ring, Lane gets a clothesline and tags Eaton. Suplex by Lane into an elbow from Eaton as they are working the neck and throat of Pillman. Slingshot backbreaker from Eaton and he can hear the males in the crowd getting behind The Express. ME continue the tandem offense for another two count as Zenk makes the save. Lane back in with more KARATE! He suckers Zenk into the ring and pitches Pillman to the floor behind the ref’s back. Lane fires Pillman into the railing as Ross notes that is usually where Cornette gets in a racket shot. Back in the ring, Pillman avoids a backdrop and gets a sunset flip. He is too close to The ME corner, Lane makes an easy tag to Eaton. He comes off top with an elbow to a big pop from the crowd. That gets two! The crowd is starting to get into this one. Lane in and Pillman gets a flash small package for two. Lane with a running forearm followed by a slam. Awkward moment as Lane takes in Eaton, who just goes for a cover. That gets two! Eaton with another right hand and he heads back up top again. Pillman catches him with a shot to the gut, but Eaton works in a thumb to the eye. Slam and Eaton goes back up and hits the Alabama Jam for two! Pillman spins out of a suplex and gets his own. Hot Tag is made to Zenk and he has punches for everyone. Backdrop to Lane! Elbow to Eaton! Lane counters a move and gets a Side Russian Leg Sweep! Rocket Launcher gets two! Wow! Eaton misses a charge in the corner and smashes his balls! Zenk comes off the middle ropes with a cross-body. All four men in the ring and Lane gets kick to the back of Zenk’s head which sends him into a small package by Eaton for the pin to a big pop at 20:21.
Winners and New NWA US Tag Team Champions: The Midnight Express via pin at 20:21
-Fun match that built and built until they hit the peak in the final minute. I enjoyed how the ME were thrown off their game for the first half of the match and only got their groove back once Pillman made a big mistake. ***3/4
-Back to Gordon Solie as we Robocop coming out of Sting’s dressing room, but kind of as they distort the video. He’s a robot you see, so his mere presence screws up electronics.
-Back to the arena and Sting makes his entrance. Robocop is out as well and I was not a Robocop fan as a kid, so this didn’t do anything for me. The Horsemen are here and they put Sting in the shark cage. Robocop is here to save the day as Ole breaks out the acting chops: “You are going to be a bucket of bolts when we are finished with you.” Robocop rips the door off the shark cage and The Horsemen have seen enough and bail.
-Up to Tony Schiavone, who brings out the returning Junkyard Dog! He calls out The Horsemen and Mean Mark. Cornette is out and notes this is supposed to be The Midnight’s time as they are the new Champions. Dog notes he has been at a house in Louisville and Cornette is shocked as that is his mother’s house. Cornette takes a swing with the racket and that doesn’t go well for him.
Corporal Punishment Match: The Rock N Roll Express (w/ jukebox) vs. The Fabulous Freebirds
-The Birds entrance still slaps because of that song. I just wish they had more to back it up in the ring because they have the presence of stars thanks to the entrance alone. The stipulation here has straps attached to each ring post to be used in any manner. Jim Ross clarifies the stipulation as he thought the straps were going to be attached to each man’s wrist. That would have made more sense. Stop me if you heard this before, but Michael Hayes is stalling to start the match. Shocking, I know! Hayes makes contact less than two minutes after the bell, which is breakneck pace for him. They fight to the corner and Gibson gets a right hand. Hayes tags out and Garvin calls out Morton. He gets the tag and Morton mocks Garvin’s strut. Clothesline knocks Garvin down followed by a clothesline. Garvin fights back with a backdrop and tries to use a strap, but Morton gets it off him. The RNR start whipping both Birds to pop the crowd and get them to bail to the floor. The straps get put back on the posts. What a weird stipulation! Gibson hooks a side headlock, but Garvin shoves off quickly. Gibson gets a sunset flip for two. Morton back in and he hooks a side headlock. I think they should have spaced out this match and the previous match. The last match was better in the ring, but this one has better heat thanks to The Birds being heat magnets. The Rock N Roll actually cheat here as they switch off with tags. Morton gets a figure-four and Gibson gets one as well as it’s stereo figure fours. Ross notes Lex Luger needs to watch out for that move later. The Birds go to the eyes to break and now Hayes can take over on Gibson. He grabs one of the straps and lays into Gibson. Morton throws a strap to Gibson and we have dueling straps. LOUD shot to Hayes and Garvin, foulishly charges in, and gets SMACKED across the back as well. The straps go back to the corner as again that just seems weird. Gibson gets caught in the wrong corner and Garvin drops him throat first on the top rope. Garvin drops a knee for two and follows with a slam. He drops another knee for another two count. Another two count and another two count. Garvin rubs Gibson’s face on the canvas, which is better than the concrete the Horsemen did to Morton. Gibson lands a kick to block a backdrop attempt and the tag is made to Morton. Garvin goes to the eyes, but Morton gets a roll-up for two. Hayes is waiting for the kick out and lands a heavy right hand, which gets a two count for Garvin. The crowd starts a “Rock and Roll,” chant which draws some boos from The Bird fans in the crowd. Hayes gets the tag and DECKS Morton with a right hand in the corner. “Rock and Roll,” chant rings out again as Hayes hooks a chinlock. Bulldog from Hayes draws a pop and gets a two count. Garvin back in with a kick to the back of the head. He hooks a chinlock as that goes for a bit. Morton escapes and tries to run to his corner, but gets caught with a knee. Morton gets pitched to the floor and Hayes is there to whip him with a strap and then uses it to choke. Garvin gets a slam back in the ring and hits a second one. He heads up top, but Morton meets him and slams him down. Tag to Hayes, who cuts off Morton. They head to the corner where Hayes lands an elbow to cut off a Morton comeback. Chops from Hayes! He preps for the Bulldog, but Morton puts on the brakes and Hayes gets dropped on his ass. Hot tag to Gibson and he hooks a sleeper, but Garvin stops that noise. Morton ends up getting dumped to the floor. Hayes hits Gibson with a DDT to a big pop, but struts instead of going for the cover. Garvin gets posted on the floor and Morton comes off the top with a sunset flip for the pin on Hayes at 18:33.
Winners: The Rock N Roll Express via pin at 18:33
-The crowd was into this one, but the stipulation was kind of weird and didn’t mean anything by the end. ***
-Tony Schiavone is with the World’s Strongest Man, Doug Furnas. Yep, that would be the same gut that popped up in the WWF in the mid nineties.
-Sting is out next to give his promo that was stopped earlier. Sting is all over this show, which makes sense as he was supposed to be World Champion by this point. He tells us that Luger is winning The World Title tonight.
NWA World Tag Team Titles: The Steiner Brothers (c) vs. Doom (w/ Theodore Long)
-Jim Ross is so happy now to be able to talk about the football backgrounds of Reed and Simmons. That had to have been killing him when they were under the masks. Tough times for Ron’s Seminoles right now as it’s been a disaster since they were screwed out of the College Football Playoff last year. Rick rips the du-rag off Teddy’s head to show off the haircut he received earlier in the show. Would be more dramatic if Teddy wasn’t basically bald before the cut. On a show with The Freebirds, Doom tops them for most time stalling before making any kind of contact in the match. It gives Ross time to talk about Oklahoma vs. Florida State and Simmons playing nose tackle. We get things going with Scott and Ron and Scott gets a powerslam. Simmons back with right hands, but Scott dumps him with a belly to back suplex. THIS CROWD LOVES THEM A HOSS FIGHT! Reed in and he flexes to slow the pace. He gets arm control and pounds away on Scott. Scott reverses and just stomps Butch in the face. Effective! A few people in the crowd start a “Florida State” sucks chant. Scott and Reed collide and neither budges. Scott with a dropkick, backdrop, and then a Steiner-line. Simmons gets one as well. Big dudes just throwing bombs at each other is a lot of fun! Doom regroup on the floor with Long as the crowd continues to roar. Rick gets the tag and Reed decks him with right hands or soup bones as Ross calls them. Reed blocks a clothesline and pitches Rick to the floor. He slides back in and blocks a hip-toss and drops Reed with a Steiner-line. All four men start fighting on the floor. Rick slams Reed on the floor and heads back. Scott down to send Reed into the railing. JR talks about Simmons being the MVP of The Hulu Bowl. That was the college All Star Game after the season. See kids, college athletes used to play any game they could instead of sitting out Bowl games to save themselves for the draft (not saying I blame them). Back in the ring Scott gets a hip-toss on Reed and then runs him into the corner before hitting a shoulder breaker. Tag to Rick and he stomps the arm. Reed uses the tights to send Rick to the floor and Ron gets in some shots before rolling him back into the ring. Rick boots Reed in the chest to block a backdrop. Tag to Scott and he gets caught with a high knee. The ref has to deal with Rick, so Reed throws Scott over the top where Simmons is waiting to throw him into the stairs and then the railing. Back in the ring, Reed gets a clothesline and tags Simmons. He hits a clothesline for two and then goes to a straight choke. Scott gets a boot up to block a charge, but Reed gets the tag and comes off top to stop Scott from making a tag. Scott ends up on the floor and Simmons pounds away before getting a slam. Back in the ring Reed with a choke and he makes sure to break at four. Scott fights back with a snap suplex to leave both men down. Simmons gets the tag first and delivers a knee that sends Scott to the floor. Teddy Long gets in some shots, which is more insult that injury. Catapult throat first into the bottom rope from Simmons. A clothesline follows as Ross notes there are a lot of clotheslines in this match. Reed back in and he drops Scott throat first on the top rope. Running bulldog gets two! He stuffs Scott with a SWANK piledriver, but makes the tag to Ron instead of covering. Ron with a running shoulder while talking smack. That costs him as Scott gets a kind of suplex. Not sure what that was! Simmons shakes it off and drives Scott face first into the mat. They then repeat whatever spot they had planned. Scott then snaps off The Frankensteiner! Hot tag to Rick and Reeds eats a Steiner-line and then a powerslam. Double suplex on Reed, but Simmons makes the save. Rick gets dumped to the floor which lets Doom hit the double team clothesline off the middle rope. That gets two as Rick makes the save. Scott gets posted on the floor which lets Doom double team Rick behind the ref’s back. Reed falls off the middle ropes and lands on Rick for the pin at 19:15.
Winners and New NWA World Tag Team Champions: Doom via pin at 19:15
-Started strong, but then kind of petered out. Probably would have been better as a 10 minute sprint where they just unloaded on each other all match. ***
-Tony Schiavone is with Doom and Teddy Long. Teddy notes he lost a little hair, but gained The World. Good line!
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Steel Cage Match: Ric Flair (c) (w/ Woman) vs. Lex Luger
-All show they have been playing up that Luger was in the hospital with a staph infection in his knee and it seems that was legit. Bob notes Flair was the Wrestler of The Decade in the 80s and as a WWF kid I laughed at that notion. This is the Thunderdome cage that was used by Hogan/Piper at Halloween Havoc 97 among other instances. Woman is on the floor inside the cage and the ref decides to check her as well as Flair and Luger. In a cute spot, they find an object in Woman’s glove which gets a chuckle from Ross. Lockup as Bob notes that Luger needs to end this quickly coming off the hospital stay and recovery. Flair won’t make that easy though as he makes Luger chase him. Luger gets a running shoulder and gets the mount to deliver right hands. He delivers a running clothesline and gets a two count that was awfully close to three. Vertical suplex from Luger and Flair sells the crap out of landing on his back. He rolls out to the floor, but can’t get too far because of the cage. Back in the ring, Luger gets a Gorilla Press Slam and then another before flexing. Flair is screaming in pain again and rolls to the floor. Flair catches Luger with a thumb to the eye and starts firing chops, but Luger just stares him down. He backs Flair into the corner and starts throwing him around the ring. Flair with more chops and Luger makes his boobies bounce to scare Ric. He starts to climb the cage and realizes there is nowhere to go. He fires off another chop and this one has some effect. Luger gets sent into the cage and then more chops! Flair starts going to work on the knee, which makes all the sense in the world. CHOPS! Flair drops a knee and gives us a WOOO! Vertical Suplex and Flair poses, but Lex is up quickly and starts firing off right hands. To the corner for the mounted 10 count punch! Flair flip in the corner and he runs the apron, but gets caught trying to come off the top with a right hand. Flair starts to climb the cage and Luger yanks him down. Both men then start climbing and Flair gets his head smashed off the cage as Bob notes Flair may be cut. Shocking! If he wasn’t yet, he is now as Luger runs him into the ring post and then grinds Flair’s face across the steel bars. Flair is pouring blood as he begs off in the corner. Lex pounds away at the cut as the crowd is solidly behind Lex here. Ric tries an atomic drop, but Luger just shakes that off and gets a clothesline for two. They start climbing again and Flair gets his head drilled off the cage again. CHOPS! Luger blocks being sent into the cage and puts Flair into the cage again. HEAVY CHOP from Flair, but it does nothing. Flair tries a shoulder block, but yeah right. SUPERPLEX from Luger, but the impact damages Luger’s bad knee. Uh oh! Flair’s blonde hair is dyed red now in spots from all the blood. Flair smells blood and not just his own as he immediately attacks the knee. Belly to back suplex from Flair, but no cover. Instead he hooks the figure-four and Ross is calling this one over. Flair uses the middle ropes for leverage behind the ref’s back. Flair releases and fires off more chops as The Horsemen head to ringside. By the time they get there Luger is back in control as he hobbles around and delivers some clotheslines. The Horsemen start to climb as they are freaking out as Luger has turned the tide. Luger with a Gorilla Press Slam. Sting is out and he pulls Ole off the cage. He fights the Horsemen off by himself, but the numbers catch up to him. El Gigante makes his debut and The Horsemen retreat. The cage starts to raise as Ole apparently took control and that lets Windham sneak into the ring and he decks Luger while Flair was in the rack for the DQ at 17:20. LAME!
Winner: Lex Luger via DQ at 17:20
-This was a fun match and props to Luger for gutting one out. Another lame DQ ending as they were clearly just buying time until Sting was ready to return. I was digging this as much as the match the previous month, but the ending was worse. ***1/4
-Windham, Arn, and Flair attack Luger while the cage drops back down. Ross: “They are going to beat him to death.” The cops get Ole away and the cage is raised enough so Sting can head in for the save.
-Flair yells and Woos a lot to Schiavone. Sting attacks and El Gigante has his back, so The Horsemen bail again.
-Thanks for reading!
