wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: NWA Starrcade ’90: Collision Course
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-We have reached the final PPV for 1990. It’s been a fascinating look at a year that was supposed to kick of new eras in both companies. Both turned to a new, younger Champion to replace their iconic former champions and it was to be a smooth transition with all the money being made and launching both companies into a new decade. Unfortunately, there were cracks in those plans for both companies and the NWA/WCW was about to blink first. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Paul E Dangerously
-Date: Dec. 16, 1990
-Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO
-Attendance: 7200
-PPV Buys: 165,000
”Beautiful” Bobby Eaton vs. The Z-Man
-We are nearing the complete change over from NWA to WCW, but these shows are still technically NWA even with WCW being all over the ring apron, stage, etc. Slow start which gives Ross a chance to let us know that due to a limo accident, Ric Flair will not be competing in the Tag Title Match later. The rationale is the contract read “The Horsemen,” so Windham is substituting with Flair. Man, can you imagine the biggest show of the year and not having Ric Flair wrestle? Z controls the early parts and takes things to the mat with a hammerlock. The red and yellow ring ropes are an interesting choice. Eaton lands a right hand and they kind of collide in an awkward spot and I swear I heard Eaton yell, “what was that?” Z gets a drop toe hold, lands on his feet off a monkey flip and gets a pair of dropkicks for two. He goes back to the arm as he hooks an armbar. Eaton counters into a modified overhand wrist lock. Ross goes back to Flair taking himself out of the tag match. Dude is injured, so what can you do? Z eats a right hand that sends him to the ramp. Eaton tries a suplex back into the ring, but Z reverses and Eaton takes the suplex out onto the ramp. Ouch! Z Man hits a dive over the ropes to a good pop. Ross notes there was no DQ there as both men have to be in the ring for the over the top rope rule to be enforced. Z runs into an elbow in the corner and Eaton follows out with a bulldog. The crowd is behind Eaton in this one. Eaton off the top with The Alabama Jam, but he crotches himself in the corner as he misses a charge. Backdrop from Man and he does a toe touch that would make Randy Orton proud. Z sets too early on a backdrop and Eaton hits a sweet neckbreaker. He heads back up top, but Z Man hits a super kick on Eaton as he comes down. Now Z heads up top, but misses the missile dropkick. Small package gets the win to a decent pop for Eaton at 8:46.
Winner: Bobby Eaton via pin at 8:46
-Started a little slow and clunky, but got better. The ending was pretty cool as Z Man crashed and burned and Eaton immediately went for the pin. **1/2
-Tony Schiavone brings out Dick The Bruiser and he will now be the special ref inside the cage for Sting and Black Scorpion.
-Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament! The bring down the tall trophy that will be presented to the winners, who will be deemed: “The Champions of The Universe.” We get a parade of Flags representing each country in the tournament complete with pyro: United States, Great Britain, Soviet Union, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Canada, and Japan.
-I always found it weird that Starrcade was seen and treated as NWA/WCW’s biggest show and yet they always stuck gimmick events there: Iron Man, Pat O’Connor, King of Cable, Battle Bowl, New Japan vs. WCW.
-Brackets: 1. USA vs. 8. South Africa, 4. Great Britain vs. 5. Mexico, 2. Japan vs. 7. New Zealand, 3. USSR vs. 6. Canada
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament: First Round: 8. Colonel DeKlerk and Sgt. Krueger (South Africa) vs. 1. The Steiners Brothers (United States)
-The South Africans are Rocco Rock and Doink The Clown! Though I have no idea which Doink as some places claim it was Ray Apollo and others have it as Matt Borne. IWD has it listed as Ray Apollo, so we will go with that. The crowd immediately starts a USA Chant. Sgt starts with Rick and he gets some token offense before Rick drops him with a Steiner-line. Tag to Colonel and Rick just hits a double Steiner-line. ColonelCol. gets a slam and then a spinning heel kick that sends Rick to the floor. He goes for a flip dive over the top and just kind of splats as Rick stares at him. Weird! Back in the ring Scott gets the tag and he starts throwing Sgt. all over the ring and finishes with a Frankenstein at 2:11.
Winners: The Steiner Brothers via pin at 2:11
-Obviously not much here, but I always enjoys seeing The Frankensteiner and Colonel’s somersault dive to the floor was cool to see in 1990. *1/4
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament: First Round: 5. Norman Smiley and Chris Adams (Great Britain) vs. 4. Konan and Rey Misterio (Mexico)
-Adams gets a pretty strong pop from the crowd, and then we have NORMAN SMILEY! PRE-BIG WIGGLE! This is masked Konan years before The Dungeon of Doom and nWo. As for Rey, this is the current Rey Mysterio’s uncle. Misterio starts with Norman and I assume Jr and Norman did something in WCW at some point. Double drop kick from team GB after Norman stands on his head to fluster Team Mexico. Back in the ring Misterio lands a strike to the face of Adams, but that seems to annoy Adams and he STICKS Rey with a super kick. We go again with Konnan and Norman and Konnan uses his his Lucha. He snaps off a head scissors, but Normal is back with a bridging suplex. Rey in to deliver a dropkick that helps Konan get a backslide for two. Adams back in and he hooks a chinlock. Konan counters to a hammerlock and Rey comes in to help. Smiley in and he dropkicks both men. Rey tries a charge and ends up on the floor. Ross keeps calling him Misteric for some reason. Norman with another bridging suplex for two. The crowd is weird here as they are dead quiet but pop for any fancy move that would become all the rage in the coming years. Adams hits a clothesline to Konan. Blind tag to Norman, but all four men just fight in the ring. Double elbow to Adams. Konan with a reverse suplex and then a bridge for the pin at 5:29. Rey hits a slingshot plancha on Adams after the match, but the landing was off camera, so I am not sure how well that went for him.
Winners: Konan and Rey Misterio via pin at 5:29
-Not sure what to do with this as it was a clash of styles, but it was kind of fascinating to watch. The crowd was just as confused, but knew to pop for the high spots. Adams was rather over with the crowd. *1/2
-Missy is with Michael Wallstreet and Alexandra York. They have cold, hard computer facts that support Wallstreet will beat Terry Taylor tonight.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament: First Round: 7. The Royal Family (Jacko Victory and Rip Morgan) (New Zealand) vs. 2. The Great Muta and Mr. Saito (Japan)
-The crowd is pumped to see Muta. Heyman had Muta as The Black Scorpion and has to cross him off the list. That would have made more sense. Muta and Victory go for a bit and then tag out. Saito with a clothesline followed by a snap suplex to Morgan. Tag back to Victory and he throws right hands. Saito grabs an arm and takes it to the mat. Victory gets to the ropes, so Saito fires off chops. Victory to the eyes and makes the tag to Morgan. Muta back in and we get a lockup. Morgan gets a shoulder tackle, but walks into a spin kick. Power Drive Elbow! Saito back in and he goes for a Scorpion, but Victory breaks that up. Victory lands a kick from the apron and Morgan gets a belly to back suplex for two. Again, this crowd is scary quiet. Victory runs Saito into the post on the floor. Double elbow from New Zealand. Morgan misses a leg drop from the middle rope and tag to Muta. He hits Morgan with the handspring elbow which wakes up the crowd. All for men brawl in the ring and Morgan accidentally clothesline Victory into a bridging suplex for Muta, which gets the pin at 5:41.
Winners: The Great Muta and Mr. Saito via pin at 5:41
-Crowd was dead except for Muta hitting his spots. It was an okay match though. *1/2
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament: First Round: 6. Troy Montour and Danny Johnson (Canada) vs. 3. Victor Zangiev and Salman Hashimikov (USSR)
-Yes, Zangiev was the inspiration for Street Fighter’s Zangief character. We are informed Team Canada won the right by pulling off a major upset. I wonder who they wanted for Team Canada, but couldn’t get? The two Soviets bring big time amateur credentials. Johnson stars with Zangiev and again, the crowd is just gone. Zangiev takes it to the mat and starts stretching Johnson with a modified bow and arrow. Montour in and he kicks Zangiev to force a break. Zangiev gets a headlock take down and escapes a head scissors. Another go and Zangiev with a overhead belly to belly suplex that drops Johnson right on his face. Ouch! Troy gets the tag which brings in Hashimikov and just stare at each other for a few seconds. Nothing is happening as they don’t seem to know what to do here. Belly to Belly Suplex by Hashimikov into a pin and we get a weird pin that was kicked out, but the ref counted anyway. That ends this match at 3:54.
Winners: Victor Zangiev and Salman Hasimikov via pin at 3:54
-I’m not sure how to describe this one as it seemed like The Russians didn’t know it was a work or didn’t care that it was as work and just did what they wanted. The ending was all kinds of screwy, but perhaps the ref just wanted it finished. That suplex was gnarly! DUD
-Tony Schiavone is backstage with Sting and he is back to being Sting and will find out who The Black Scorpion is tonight. So search the nearest bar!
Terry Taylor vs. Michael Wallstreet (w/ Alexandra York)
-Red Rooster vs. IRS! We have a clock on screen counting down from 8:32 as Wallstreet’s fancy computer predicted he will win this match under that time. Taylor starts quickly, so Wallstreet bails to the floor to regroup with York. Back in the ring Taylor gets a tackle followed by a clothesline for a two count. Wallstreet hooks an armbar and pulls Taylor down by the hair. That goes on for a bit, so Taylor lands a right hand. He tries a crossbody, but gets caught by Wallstreet. Backbreaker follows as Ross goes over Wallstreet’s football background at Syracuse. He tries to drop an elbow, but misses. No matter as Wallstreet comes off the mat with a clothesline and then drops an elbow for two. Abdominal Stretch and Wallstreet hooks the ropes to piss off the crowd. The ref eventually catches Wallstreet and forces a break. Dropkick misses as Taylor grabs the top rope. He starts firing off right hands and lands a back elbow. Backdrop from Taylor! Jawbreaker! Cool! Slam from Taylor and he drops a knee for a two count. Wallstreet misses wildly on a punch. That lets Taylor get an Atomic Drop and then a belly to back suplex for two. Five-Arm gets two as Wallstreet got his foot on the bottom rope. Taylor runs into a stun-gun and The Stock Market Crash gets the pin at 6:53. Chalk one up for The Computer I guess! In the race to see who will dominate humans in the future, my money is still on The Apes over Machines.
Winner: Michael Wallstreet via pin at 6:53
-After that run of Tag Tournament Matches this was like Flair/Steamboat. Just a solid match between two pros. **1/2
The Motor City Madman and Big Cat vs. The Skyscrapers
-This is not part of the Tag Tournament and is just a way to Sid and Spivey to destroy someone. Sid goes from Main Event at the last PPV to this. All four men start brawling in the ring. Motor City gets dumped to the ramp. Double backdrop to Cat! Double shoulders in the corner and then a double powerbomb finishes at 1:01.
Winners: The Skyscrapers via pin at 1:01
-Just a SQUASH. The crowd really likes Sid! SQUASH
-The Skyscrapers lift Dangerously off the floor to conduct an interview. They will decide their future and they rule the world. Spivey: “Shut up little man.”
The Fabulous Freebirds (w/ Little Richard Marley) vs. Ricky Morton and Tommy Rich (w/ Robert Gibson on crutches)
-So many Freebird Tag Matches in the last two years of shows. Again, at least I get to hear Bad Street. The Confederate face paint is back for The Birds. Loud “Freebirds” Suck chant! Garvin starts with Morton and we don’t get any really stalling so they must be going short tonight. Morton with a head scissors and that brings Hayes in. Dropkicks for everyone including Richard, who got on the apron. Hayes gets the tag and we will see how much stalling he has in him tonight. He kicks Morton in the gut and fires off chops. Whip reversed and Hayes gets his balls crushed with an atomic drop. Hayes blocks being sent into the post on the floor, but Gibson lands a cheap shot. CHEATERS! Moton then puts Hayes face first into the post. Ross doesn’t think anyone would stoop low enough to hit a man of crutches. Hayes misses a knee drop and we get Stereo Figure Fours as Garvin rushes in and gets caught by Rich. We settle down and Garvin wants a piece of Rich. Hip toss from Rich and Marley gets knocked down and spanked. Hayes rushes in and gets bounced around the ring and runs to Garvin to give him a hug. Hayes with the tag and he lands a few right hands. He fucks a clothesline and a left hand drops Rich. DDT is countered with a backdrop and both partners are tagged back into the match. All four men start brawling and Hayes gets a bulldog behind the ref’s back. Marley looks to come off the top, but Gibson hits him with a crutch and he falls into Garvin. Garvin is pissed and chokes Marley which leaves him vulnerable to a roll-up for the pin at 6:13.
Winners: Ricky Morton and Tommy Rich via pin at 6:13
-This was okay, but not what I would call good or anything. No stalling is a good thing. *1/2
Hayes lands a cheap shot on Richard and The Birds take him out as Morton and Rich leave. They have to help a man in need though and head back to save Marley, but that leaves Gibson alone on the ramp. The Birds run his hobbled ass down with a double clothesline to many boos.
-Tony is with US Champion, Stan Hansen, and he will now face Lex Luger in a Texas Lariat Match (touch the post strap/chain/rope).
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament: Semi-Final Round: 1. The Steiner Brothers (USA) vs. 4. Konan and Rey Misterio (Mexico)
-Two future nWo members in this match! Konan and Rick start with some mat wrestling. Konan gets a trip and ties the legs of Steiner into a modified death lock. Steiner counters and it’s a clean break. Another go and Scott gets the tag. He delivers a knee and hits a powerslam. Top rope bulldog which should end this one, but they let Konan make the tag to Misterio. They try some mat wrestling as Ross and Dangerously note Rey has a bruise on his thigh. Chinlock from Scott and tag back to Rick. Rey gets a tackle and then another. He tries a rana, but Rick powerbombs him of the pin at 2:53.
Winners: The Steiner Brothers via pin at 2:53
-Weird match, but it at least worked as a match. *
-Tony is with Arn Anderson and Barry Windham. We see footage from earlier where Teddy Long drove Flair’s limo into a trap and Flair gets attacked to explain why he is out of the tag match. So was Long in on what is to come then? Or was it a coincidence that Long had men ready to jump Flair and it worked out for The Horsemen? I am putting more thought into this than they were apparently.
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament: Semi-Final Round: 2. The Great Muta and Mr. Saito (Japan) vs. 3. Victor Zangiev and Salman Hashimikov (USSR)
-Let’s see if Team Japan is as tolerant with the Russian’s lack of pro-wrestling skill as Team Canada was. Muta starts with Zangiev and Zangiev shoot in for a single leg. Muta floats over and nothing doing. Lockup and Zangiev hits a bridging belly to back suplex for two. Saito gets the tag and Zangiev grabs an arm and takes him to the mat. Saito gets to his feet and Salman gets the tag. He offers a clean break in the corner and then shoots in for a single leg. He takes Saito down and hooks a Boston Crab. Muta with a kick from behind. Zangiev back in and Saito gets a heel trip. He gets a Scorpion Deathlock, but Zangiev just escapes and tags out. Muta in as well and Hashimikov with a suplex and then another one. Saito is done with this and runs Zangiev down with a clothesline and Saito Suplex finishes at 3:08.
Winners: The Great Muta and Mr. Saito via pin at 3:08
-The suplexes were cool and this worked better than the earlier Russian match. Still, this has been one the worst tournaments you will ever see. *1/4
NWA United States Championship: Texas Lariat Match: Stan Hansen (c) vs. Lex Luger
-Hansen pulled the upset and ended Luger’s reign as Champion at Halloween Havoc. Both men are tied at the wrists with a lariat and you win by touching all four corner. Hansen jumps Luger as he is getting his wrist tied and kicks him in the face. He misses an elbow and Luger fights back with right hands. He hits a back elbow and flexes for the crowd. Slam, but Hansen is back with a knee-lift and then starts whipping Luger with the rope. Dangerously notes Luger has no chance of winning this match. I guess that’s why he only offers spoilers now instead of predictions. They brawl on the floor and Hasen blasts Luger with a chair as they knock down some photographers. Back in the ring Luger lands some right hands, and a head-butt. He drops Hansen with a clothesline and goes for a pin to show he isn’t sure what to do in this match. Luger ends up touching two corners and gets run into the third by Hansen, who then hits a belly to back suplex. Hansen starts dragging Luger and gets one corner before being cut-off. Hansen hangs Luger with the rope over the top rope as Dangerously notes Hansen gets in fights with his whores. Unless he said horse! Hansen drops an elbow off the middle rope and gets to two corners. He lands a kick to Luger and gets corner three, but Luger cuts him off with a clothesline. Hansen goes to a straight choke, but Luger has life and sends Hansen to the floor with a kick. They fight out there again as Hansen gets run into the apron and then the post. That Starrcade padding takes away some of the visual impact of being thrown into the post. Back in the ring Luger drops a leg and then another. Here’s a third for good measure. Luger starts to make the trip around and gets two buckles with ease. Hansen tries to block, but eats a boot and Luger gets to corner three. The crowd is alive as they are begging Luger to get to corner four. Hansen lets go out of the rope and Luger hits the final corner, but the ref got knocked down and never saw it. Hansen has Luger tied up and Nick Patrick is out to take over ref duties and the crowd is pissed as they feel this one should be over. Crazy that people out there would be booing Nick Patrick. Hansen gets to a fourth corner for the win at 10:13.
-Well, Anderson gets back to his feet and notes that Luger has won. Patrick is cool with that and apparently this is what you have to go through to have Hansen drop a Title back.
Winner and New NWA United States Champion: Lex Luger via pin at 10:13
-Fun brawl with a less than satisfying finish. The crowd popped for the Luger win though. ***
NWA World Tag Team Titles: Street Fight: Doom (c) (w/ Teddy Long) vs. The 4 Horsemen (Arn Anderson and Barry Windham)
-As mentioned earlier this was supposed to be Flair and Anderson getting a rematch from Halloween Havoc, but other stuff got in the way. Some impressive pyro for Doom considering it’s 1990. Anything goes and they start brawling at the bell. I appreciate they are all dressed in non-wrestling attire. Arn uses a belt to strike Ron on the ramp and they start trading right hands from there. Back in the ring, Reed gets a suplex on Windham for two. Ron gets the belt and whips away at Arn. Weight belt shot to Reed while Arn uses a chair on Ron’s knee. Back to the other side of the ring where Barry gets run into the post and he is bleeding. Only took about 100 seconds. Reed uses the belt buckle to open up the cut, but Barry gets a belt to back suplex on the floor to stop that noise. Simmons is busted open as well. The Horsemen double team Simmons in the ring. Belt buckle shot to the face! Chair shot to the head of Reed from Arn! Ron takes another chair shot to the back. Reed is bleeding as well, and it’s not often Arn is the only one not split open. Simmons with a spinebuster on Barry for two. Oh, there’s Arn and yep, he is bleeding as well. Simmons with a Gorilla Press Slam on Arn and he heads up top. Windham with a ball shot to knock him off balance. That lets Barry hit a superplex for two. Good pop from the crowd for the move. Reed is up top and hits a flying shoulder tackle, but Barry makes the save. DDT from Barry! Cool! Dangerously sitting ringside for this seems appropriate and you can probably hear his gears turning as he had to see this as the future. Pile driver from Simmons only gets two. Arn tries to come off the top, but Reed shoves Barry and that lets Ron hit a clothesline. We end up somehow getting a double pin at 7:18, so Doom keeps the Titles.
Draw at 7:18
-Tremendous brawl that was a template for what would be coming with people like Catcus Jack, Kevin Sullivan, and the ECW style. Finish was awful and killed the crowd, who were in awe of what was happening. ****
-The two teams continue to brawl down the ramp. Arn takes a backdrop on the ramp. This is a heck of a brawl and just wild for the time.
-Ross and Dangerously get into a fun verbal spat over who won the last match. These two are great together and it’s cool how they picked up like no time passed 20 years later in WWF.
-WrestleWar 91: War Games commercial!
Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament Championship: 1. The Steiner Brothers (USA) vs. 2. The Great Muta and Mr. Saito (Japan)
-The crowd is into this one to start which is a good sign. USA chants as Dangerously goes on a tangent about the Yen being worth more than the dollar and how Japan makes better cars and computers. Muta gets an enziguiri, but Scott is able to grab a leg and rolls into a Half Crab. Muta gets to the ropes to break. Tag to Rick as the crowd starts barking. Muta has no time for barking though and lands a series of kicks. Rick back with a Steiner-line, so Muta makes the tag to Saito. He misses a clothesline and we get a rare dropkick from Rick Steiner. STEINER-LINE! Muta jumps up to the top rope, so Rick shakes the ropes and Muta crotches on the top rope. Saito bows to Rick as he has a smile on his face. It seems like he had a good laugh at Muta falling on his balls. Muta and Scott back in and there’s The Handspring Elbow! Always beautiful! He tries again, but Scott lands a boot and comes out of the corner with belly to belly suplex for two as Saito makes the save. Saito back in as JR makes a McDonald’s reference. My recap of that episode can be found here. Rick and Saito collide in the middle of the ring to leave both men down. Muta gets the tag first and hits the Power Drive Elbow! Rick gets dumped to the floor and Saito runs him shoulder first into the ring post. The ref gets tied up with Scott and that lets Muta use the ring bell to blast Rick. The crowd is all over the ref since he is Japanese, as he keeps forcing Scott back to his corner. Rules are rules! Saito comes off the middle rope with a shot to the ribs. Scott tries to come in again, and the ref forces him out again. Muta off the top illegally, as again, Scott entered early and the ref had to force him back out. Rick ducks a Muta kick and hits another STEINER-LINE. Hot Tag to Scott and Muta goes flying off a backdrop. Sit-out powerbomb from Scott, but Saito makes the save and turns the tide. Saito back in and he hits a chop. Saito Suplex, but no cover as he goes for a choke. Rick kicks Saito which gets the ref’s attention. Muta and Saito hit a spike piledriver and Ross is calling this match over. Rick rushes in and eats a spin kick. Things have kind of fallen apart here as they stumble around the ring. Muta celebrates on the ropes and misses Rick getting a blind tag. Sleeper from Saito, but Scott drops down and Rick comes off the top with a sunset flip for the pin at 10:53.
Winners: The Steiner Brothers via pin at 10:53
-Weird match that started okay, but then things kind of went sideways. I dug the story of Scott being a hot head and distracting the ref which let the Japanese cheat like crazy. Best match of the Tournament by far. **3/4
-Jim Herd is out to present The Steiners with their obscenely large trophy. Scott and Rick are proud of the soldiers in Kuwait and encourage them to kick some butt.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Steel Cage Match: Sting (c) vs. The Black Scorpion
-Dick The Bruiser is the special ref for this match. Okay, let’s sit back and take a deep breath here. We get four men heading down the ramp dressed as The Black Scorpion. Dangerously: “I don’t understand what is going on here.” Just wait Paul! We get a spaceship dropping down from the rafters and it looks like it was made out of something off the set of American Gladiators. It turns into a pod and then we get some seizure inducing pyro before we hear The Black Scorpion. It seems the other four were only messengers and there is only one Black Scorpion. The pod opens and this must be the real Scorpion because he is wearing a shiny, silver cape. The crowd is just dead for all of this, but they start to come alive as it dawns on them who us under the mask. Stare down to start and then Sting gets a side headlock. Belly back suplex from The Scorpion. He looks like he wants to drop a knee like a certain someone, but changes his mind and drops an elbow that misses. Clubbing blow froM Scorpion and he tries to run Flair into the cage, but Sting blocks. Dangerously notes that all the tricks and stories from The Scorpion could have been a lie to play mind games. That’s basically a way to cover for the fact they had no clue what they were doing and couldn’t get the person they originally wanted to be under the mask. This whole thing makes Warrior’s run and booking look like Roman Reigns by comparison. Scorpion was kidnapping people and turning them into tigers and yet, we get a wrestling match here. The crowd starts WOOOOING as they aren’t stupid. Head scissors which JR notes looks like a European version that the Japanese use. Yeah! Scorpion with a side headlock and he uses the ropes which gets Bruiser on his case. I mean, it’s a cage match, so shouldn’t he be allowed to cheat. We do get a cool camera angle from above the cage as they have a guy sitting on top of the cage in the corner. Probably some OSHA law about that now. We are nearly 8 minutes into this match and NOTHING IS HAPPENING! Scorpion throws some clubbing blows and goes to the eyes as he continue to wrestle in a way that won’t tip off who he is. Those punches are an easy give away though. Sting shows a pulse with a Gorilla Press Slam and then a clothesline. Another one, but he misses a dive and ends up going into the cage. Cool bump, but the 9:30 it took to get there sucked the life out of me. Scorpion goes for a cover and Bruiser gives an awful count. This match has so much going against it and adding Bruiser as a ref isn’t helping things. Scorpion charges but gets caught with a boot and it’s a slow and deliberate two count. Suplex and it takes Bruiser three seconds just to get to the mat and start the count. Scorpion sends Sting into the cage as we see a shot of his fan club in the audience. Scorpion stands on Sting’s face and uses the ropes for added leverage. Sting gets caught between the ropes and cage, which lets Scorpion bounce his head off the cage. To the other side and Sting gets tossed into the cage again. Ugly piledriver gets two as Sting gets his bottom foot on the rope. I HATE WHAT THIS MATCH IS DOING TO WHAT SHOULD BE AT WORST AND IN THEIR SLEEP *** FLAIR/STING MATCH. Sorry, SPOILERS! The camera keeps cutting to the crowd because they are bored by this match as well. Sting is able to get a reaction from the crowd as he hits a bulldog. Stinger Splash and we get a SCORPION FLOP! Scorpion Deathlock, but the Scorpion is able to crawl and use the ropes to escape. Scorpion gets tossed into the cage and Sting removes the mask and it’s…A SILVER MASK! Some blond hair showing though! They fight on the top rope and Sting ends up falling back. We then get an awful sequence were Sting falls into the wrong side of the ropes and Scoprion has to delay before falling on his balls. This is so tough to watch! Sting starts bouncing Scorpion from one side of the cage to the other and somehow he is bleeding through the mask. The best spot of the match sees Sting javelin Scorpion into the cage. Clothesline from Sting and he heads up top. He comes off the top with a cross-body for the win at 18:30.
Winner and Still NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Sting via pin at 18:30
-Just awful and boring and it made me angry to see what they did to Sting and Flair here. Flair tried to not wrestle like Ric Flair and well, that sucks. If you have Flair/Sting in the ring, give me a Flair/Sting match. DUD
-The other Scorpions hit the ring, but Sting and Bruiser beat them down and take off their masks. Barry Windham and Arn Anderson hit the ring and I wonder why they would be here? The crowd wants Luger as Sting eats a DDT from Arn on the chair. The Scorpion is throws some chair shots that would make Nia Jax proud. Morton and Z-Man try to climb the cage to save, but they suck at that. Finally, we get some real stars as The Steiners uses bolt cutters. Everyone starts brawling in the ring and we finally see that The Black Scorpion is Ric Flair. Shocking! This brawl to end got a much bigger reaction that anything that happened in the match.
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