wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Slamboree 1996
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-We continue our run through 1996 with another show I haven’t watched since it aired nearly 27 years ago. This is WCW’s first PPV in nearly two months as they didn’t have a PPV or even a Clash of Champions in April. We ended the last PPV with Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage beating most of the top heel roster. The Giant was the lone man unscathed, and he ended up winning The WCW World Title from Ric Flair on Nitro. No Hogan on this PPV so they needed a gimmick and dusted off Battle Bowl and The Lethal Lottery. For those who don’t know what that is, let me explain. There are 32 wrestlers in a lottery and they are randomly paired into teams. They have a tournament until 4 teams are left and then those 8 men face off in a Battle Royal with one man claiming a ring and being named, “Lord of The Ring.” Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes
-Date: May 19, 1996
-Riverside Centroplex, Baton Rouge, LA
-Attendance: 7791
-PPV Buys: 155,000 (nearly 100,000 less than Uncensored)
-Tony, Bobby, and Dusty run down the main parts of the card and it seems the teams are already known. Not sure why I didn’t remember that.
Battle Bowl: First Round: Road Warrior Animal and Booker T vs. Road Warrior Hawk and Lex Luger
-You can see how random this really is, but I actually prefer this method instead of a legit random drawing. If you are going to use this gimmick then give me enemies teaming and partners facing each other. Hawk attacks Booker T before the bell which has Nick Patrick separating them. Things slow down as they try to figure out who is starting and what corners each team will be in. Booker and Animal argue to kill more time. Luger and Animal start us off with a lockup. Luger backs Animal into the corner and lands a right hand as the ref tries to force a break. Powerslam from Luger and then they just kind of stand around again. Another lockup and now Animal backs Luger into the corner. He lands a few shoulders and then drops Lex with a clothesline. Animal lands his own powerslam and then a jumping shoulder tackle as Tony wants to see the Warriors face each other. Luger lands a kick and gets a suplex, but Animal no sells and comes back with a dropkick. Tag to Booker T and he levels Luger with a sidekick. Charge in the corner catches a boot and Luger comes out of the corner with a clothesline. Luger gets a slam, but misses an elbow. Booker then misses his own elbow, but gets the spinaroni (not named yet, though it popped the crowd) and hits another sidekick which gets two. Booker hooks a chinlock and the crowd gets behind Luger as he fights his way out. Booker gets a scissors kick and Hawk breaks the count. Luger and Hawk start arguing with each other and then start pounding on each other. Everyone starts hitting everyone as Hawk and Animal basically end up on the same side again. As everyone brawls on the floor, Nick Patrick counts everyone out at 6:52.
Winner: Nobody due to Double Count-Out at 6:52
-Just a basic tag match that ripped us off as we didn’t even get Hawk and Animal wrestling each other. Then apparently neither Hawk or Animal wanted to be on the losing end, so we get the cop-out finish. They probably should have started this show off with a match that was going to have a winner and loser. *
Battle Bowl: First Round: The Public Enemy vs. Kevin Sullivan and Chris Benoit
-If this was in ECW it would be a fun brawl, but since we have a thousand matches on this show I suspect they don’t get much time. Sullivan and Benoit didn’t really hate each other yet, but it was brewing. Here they are facing an actual team that “randomly” ended up together. Benoit and Rock start and Rock snaps off a head scissors. Rock with a rana and then he does some dancing. Again, this would be much better if it wasn’t just a traditional tag match. Rock goes for another rana, but Benoit plants him with a powerbomb and unloads with right hands. Tag to Sullivan and then Grunge jumps in and his is more like it as everyone brawls. Sullivan throws a chair at Rock and a table just happens to be set up. Sullivan gets put on the table and gets held in place by Grunge. Rock gets cut off in the ring by a Benoit clothesline. Grunge gets tossed in the railing while Benoit takes a crazy bump as he gets suplexed out of the ring to the floor. Benoit and Sullivan get stacked on the table, but Sullivan moves which lets Benoit take everything as he gets put through the table. Sullivan tells Jimmy Hart he has a bad leg and hobbles to the back while Benoit gets pinned at 4:43.
Winners: The Public Enemy via pin at 4:43
-Way too short to be worth anything, but they at least stopped having a standard tag match and gave us a taste of a fun brawl. **
Battle Bowl: First Round: Sgt. Craig Pittman (w/ Teddy Long) and Scott Steiner vs. Rick Steiner and The Booty Man (w/ Kimberly)
-Dusty is drooling over Kimberly as he yells for someone to bring him his medicine and Heenan points out he will need more than medicine. The bell rings and we take thirty seconds to figure out who is starting. It ends up being Booty Man and Pittman and they lockup. Pittman gets a hammerlock and Man rolls on the mat to escape. I just realized there are four men in this that are in the WWE Hall of Fame when you count Teddy Long. Scott gets the tag and eats a knee-lift. Scott back with a butterfly suplex and he tags Pittman back into the match. Man tags out to Rick and he barks for a bit. Pittman lands a knee to the gut, but gets run over with a shoulder. Rick misses an elbow and Pittman hits a sweet German Suplex. The announcers are begging for Steiner vs. Steiner, but not yet. Pittman misses a clothesline and Rick decapitates him with a clothesline. He makes the tag to Scott and the crowd comes alive as it’s Steiner vs. Steiner. You knew they wouldn’t have any issue beating the piss out of each other. They lockup and Scott gets a take down which gets a smile from Rick. They go again and Rick gets the better of this exchange. Rick tries a drop down and Scott just stops and drops down into back control. Rick escapes and it’s a stalemate. They go again and Scott suplexes his brother on his head. Cool! Clothesline is ducked and Rick lands one of his own. Scott plays possum and suckers Rick into a roll-up for two. Nice! Scott hooks a full-nelson which Rick reverses to his own and transitions into a suplex. Rick heads up and Scott brings him down with another suplex. The fun ends though as The Booty Man gets the tag and ends up missing a charge in the corner leading to his shoulder hitting the post. Pittman in and he hooks The Code Red, but Booty Man is able to get close enough to his corner to make the tag. Scott in and he hits a German Suplex into a bridge for the pin at 8:23.
Winner: Rick Steiner and The Booty Man via pin at 8:23
-Easily the best match so far as The Steiners were having fun suplexing the crap out of each other. The ending kind of came out of nowhere, but at least they were given a little bit of time. Again, credit to The Steiners for buying into this and having fun with it. **3/4
Battle Bowl: First Round: The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal and Dave Taylor) vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan and V.K. Wallstreet
-Wallstreet is the former IRS now doing a version of The Million Dollar Man and obviously The V.K. was a shot at one Vincent Kennedy McMahon. They would do better when Virgil came into the company later in the year and was named Vincent, which was payback for the original Virgil name being a shot at Dusty. Wrestling wars are great! This was supposed be Finlay teaming with Regal to keep the theme of enemies being forced to team, and I am not sure why they made the change. The announcers are saying it’s due to a Finlay injury. Regal and Duggan start and naturally Regal stalls even when he likely only has 5 or so minutes in this match. They finally lockup after a minute of stalling. They jockey for position and Regal lands a punch over the ref’s back. Duggan gets a hiptoss, but Duggan is back with a series of clotheslines. Wallstreet gets the tag and so does Taylor. Taylor controls the arm and tags back to Regal. Wallstreet reverses an arm ringer and then lands some uppercuts. Tag to Duggan and he shoves Wallstreet which lets Regal take advantage. They collide in the middle of the ring and Regal gets the tag one end while Wallstreet walks away from Duggan on the other. Duggan punches his own partner and then tapes up his first and knocks out Regal for the pin at 3:48.
Winners: Hacksaw Jim Duggan and V.K. Wallstreet via pin at 3:48
-They stalled for 1:10, so this was really a two and a half minute match. The Blue Bloods looked super weak losing to a guy whose partner turned on him. DUD
Battle Bowl: First Round: Dick Slater (w/ Colonel Parker) and Earl Robert Eaton vs Alex Wright and Disco Inferno
-I mean, this would be the only match so far where a random drawing would seem possible. Disco and Slater start and Slater mauls him in the corner, so Disco stalls as he is worried about his hair. Disco kicks off, but Slater is right back with an elbow and then a heavy chop. Wright in and Slater gets drop toehold. Tag to Eaton and he eats an uppercut followed by a dropkick. Wright gets another kick for a two count. Tag to Slater and he snaps off a neckbreaker. Wright backdrops out of a piledriver and makes the tag to Disco. He runs wilds for a bit and then all four men brawl in the ring. Wright hits a clothesline that sends him and Eaton to the floor. Slater pulls off his cowboy boot and decks Disco behind the ref’s back which gets the pin at 2:57.
Winners: Dick Slater and Earl Robert Eaton via pin at 2:57
-Fastest match of the night as they couldn’t even get three minutes. Probably for the best. 1/2*
Battle Bowl: First Round: Diamond Dallas Page and The Barbarian vs. Meng and Hugh Morrus
-It’s another case of partners facing each other and overall there are 4 heels in this match. Heenan rightly points out that Meng and Barbarian won’t have an issue fighting each other. Page and Hugh start and Page plays mind games which causes Hugh just to laugh at him. DDP gets a headlock, but a shoulder tackle sends him to the floor. Morrus misses a slingshot plancha. Page hits his discus clothesline and the tag is made to Barbarian. Hugh tags Meng and the Face of Fear start tearing into each other. Chops, eye rakes, and shoulder tackles all around. Lot of no selling too! Double clothesline and neither man goes down. Barbarian lands a superkick and then slams Page onto Meng as they are working better than any two teams so far. Morrus back in and gets a slam on Barbarian before heading up top and dropping an elbow. It only gets a one count, so Hugh goes back up and Page hits the ropes to send him down on his balls. Barbarian heads up and brings Hugh down with a belly to belly suplex and Meng makes the save. Page tries to come in, but realizes it’s too early and just walks back out. Hugh hits No Laughing Matter and now DDP runs in for the save. Meng hits a big foot on Page and Barbarian gets one on Hugh, so the ref counts both men and sees Page’s foot under the ropes so he continues the count on Morrus to give Barbarian the win at 5:17.
Winners: Diamond Dallas Page and Barbarian via pin at 5:17
-The crowd didn’t care as they had nobody to cheer for, but I enjoyed Meng and Barbarian beating on each other. From there it became kind of a mess though the finish was kind of creative. *1/2
Battle Bowl: First Round: Big Bubba and Stevie Ray vs. Fire and Ice (Scott Norton and Ice Train)
-Our second Tag Team to remain intact! Stevie and Norton lock up as the future nWo B team explodes. Actually, I guess Bubba ended up part of the B Team as well. Norton misses a clothesline, but lands a jumping shoulder block. He hits some splashes in the corner, but runs into a boot in the opposite corner. Stevie gets a running clothesline and makes the tag to Bubba. He connects with a splash in the corner and gets a spinebuster for two. Again, the crowd doesn’t have anyone to cheer here, so they are dead. Norton back with a slam and he tags Ice Train. He gets a slam and drops a leg for two. Double clothesline spot leaves both men down. Norton gets the tag and drops Bubba on his face. Stevie comes in and Norton fights him off as well. Bubba lands a right hand but gets sent into his own partner. Double shoulder by Fire and Ice on Bubba and that’s enough for the pin at 3:32.
Winners: Fire and Ice via pin at 3:32
-Well, at least the actual team won the match and it was short. 1/2*
Battle Bowl: First Round: Eddie Guerrero and Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair (w/ Miss Elizabeth and Woman) and Randy Savage
-Here we go! You have four Hall of Famers in this one and poor Eddie is stuck in this Horsemen/Savage feud. As you know, Flair and Savage hate each other and it’s even worse since Liz turned on Savage and joined Flair. No Flair as his music plays, so Savage’s music hits and he makes his entrance as Heenan is worried Savage got to Flair in the back already. Flair’s music starts again and Anderson attacks Savage from behind. Flair sprints down and starts stomping away on his own partner. The bell sounds as Eddie and Flair start trading blows and finally the crowd has something to sink their teeth into. Eddie dominates Flair, so he backs off in the corner. A loud Eddie chant starts as Liz and Woman head to ringside. Flair takes a backdrop out of the corner and Eddie follows with a dropkick. Flair punches Savage which counts as a tag and then he makes Eddie tag Arn. Effective! Arn works over Savage, but he starts firing back to pop the crowd. Arn cuts him off in the corner, but runs into a boot. Savage runs out and gets planted with a spinebuster for two. Flair tags back in and throws chops at Savage, so Eddie saves his opponent as he goes to work on Flair. This is tremendous! Another dropkick from Eddie and he sticks Flair with a Tornado DDT. Now Savage attacks Flair and Arn decides to DDT his own partner because why not? Arn pulls Savage to the floor and sends him into the railing and then into the post. Flair crawls for the cover on Eddie and gets the pin at 4:07.
Winner: Ric Flair and Randy Savage via pin at 4:07
-This was tremendously entertaining for a 4 minute match and they deserved more time. Eddie got some shine in before eating the pin and I can never get enough of Savage and Flair tormenting each other. Everyone played their part here and as always, Arn is there to make sure Flair comes out ahead. ***
-Flair carries Liz to Savage so she can slap him in the face and then Arn drops him with a DDT on the floor. Heenan is in his glory calling Savage’s misery!
-That ends the first round and Tony tells us there will be another drawing to see what teams face each other in Round Two and one team will get a bye to the Battle Royal since one match ended in both teams losing.
-Great American Bash commercial!
-Gene is joined by three women from Hooters, who will help him with the drawing for the second round. Fire and Ice receive the bye to Battle Bowl! Slater/Eaton vs. Duggan/Wallstreet is one of our second round matches. We don’t get informed of the other two matches.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Dean Malenko (c) vs. Brad Armstrong
-This would be the early days of the division, and they were still working out the kinks. Don’t worry though as a certain masked lucha star would show up the next month to save things. Tony and Dusty note that Dean was knocked out of the Tournament to crown the first Champion early before winning The Title. Some more trivia as this is the first time the Cruiserweight Title has been defended on PPV. Armstrong lands a kick to the head and then they fight over a hip-toss. Dean lands a knee to the ribs, but walks into a dropkick that barely grazes him with one foot. Dean bails to the floor and then teases a test of strength when back in before getting a dropkick to the knee. Dean wraps the knee around the post and now has a body part to work. Slam from Dean and he follows with an elbow drop to the knee from the middle rope. Dean hooks a step over toe-hold and drops some knees on Brad’s knee for good measure. Armstrong gets put in the Tree of Woe and Malenko lands a dropkick to the exposed knee. Cool! Armstrong gets a sunset flip for two as he slides out of a slam, but he can’t follow up. Dean with another dropkick to the knee as the crowd is getting restless. Dean continues to work the knee as the crowd is just gone. Headbutt to the knee and then back to a knee-bar. More trivia as they pan to the Spanish Announce Team as this is the first WCW PPV to be broadcast in Spanish. Malenko tries coming off the middle rope again, but Brad blocks this time. He hobbles around to sell the leg and runs into a boot to the face, but catches Dean coming out with a powerslam. Armstrong gets a missile dropkick from the top and puts Dean in the Texas Cloverleaf. Malenko gets to the bottom rope to break and then uses leverage to send Armstrong to the floor. Brad tries to go back up again and Malenko meets him up there to deliver a Super Gutbuster for the pin at 8:28.
Winner: Dean Malenko via pin at 8:28
-Again this was in the early days of the division so it was just a basic wrestling match. Things would change the next month. This was solid even if the crowd didn’t care. **1/2
-Glacier vignette! The nWo kind of put this on back burner as the company went into a more reality based direction and characters based off Mortal Kombat didn’t fit in as well.
-Gene and the women finish the drawing: Public Enemy vs. Randy Savage and Ric Flair; DDP and Barbarian vs. The Booty Man and Rick Steiner.
Battle Bowl: Second Round: Dick Slater (w/ Colonel Parker) and Earl Robert Eaton vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan and VK Wallstreet
-Duggan and Wallstreet start beating up each other because sure. Eaton and Slater run over to attack instead of just letting their opponents beat each other senseless. Duggan clears the ring and he and VK seemingly make temporary peace. Slater decks Duggan from behind and then gets a slam on Wallstreet for two. Eaton in and he lands some right hands as Duggan threatens to toss the referee. Wallstreet with a backdrop and Eaton bails to the floor, but Duggan is waiting on him with right hands. Back in the ring Wallstreet gets an abdominal stretch and wants Duggan to help him cheat, but Duggan isn’t down with that. All four men fight in the ring for a second and then Wallstreet tags out to Duggan. He gets the crowd into this before decking Eaton and then Slater. Clothesline sends Slater to the mat for a two count. Duggan lands a shoulder block and that leaves both men down for some reason. Each man makes the tag and Eaton heads up, but gets slammed down by Wallstreet. They mess up a spot in the corner so repeat it as Wallstreet accidentally hits Duggan, so Duggan punches him back and Eaton gets a roll-up for the pin at 4:09.
Winners: Dick Slater and Earl Robert Eaton via in at 4:09
-This was a mess but it was short. DUD
Battle Bowl: Second Round: The Public Enemy vs. Ric Flair and Randy Savage
-No Savage so Flair comes out with Liz and Woman. Liz tosses Savage’s money to the fans and that brings out a rather pissed off Randy Savage. Security tries to hold Savage back which lets Flair land some cheap shots. Bagwell, Riggs, and Eddie are out to try to hold Savage back as the crowd chants, “Let him go.” I agree! Public Enemy win by forfeit it seems.
Winners: Public Enemy via forfeit
-No match and just a stupid booking decision. There were other ways to do this and still give us some semblance of a match. No rating obviously.
Battle Bowl: Second Round: Diamond Dallas Page and The Barbarian vs. The Booty Man (w/ Kimberly) and Rick Steiner
-Rick and DDP start us off and Page bad mouths Kimberly. Booty Man gets the tag and fires away on Page. DDP gets sent to the floor as Tony covers that DDP is back in WCW thanks to a mysterious benefactor. For whatever reason I assumed that was going to be Ted Dibiase back then, and I don’t remember if they ever paid off who it was. I have some vague memory of it being Kimberly just to tie up the loose end, but I could have that wrong. Back to the match as Barbarian lands a boot to Rick’s face. He tries another, but Rick ducks and gets a suplex. To the top and he throws Barbarian across the ring with another suplex. Clothesline gets a two count. Someone in the crowd won’t quit whistling and it’s annoying the crap out of me. Dude, she is not going to give you the time of day! Barbarian with a chinlock, but Steiner gets the tag behind the ref’s back. The ref forces Booty back to the apron which lets Barbarian toss Steiner over the top to the floor. Steiner eats a shot from Page out there, but is able to get the hot tag to Booty Man. He lands a high knee, but Page makes the save. Page then drops an elbow to Booty behind the ref’s back and that lets Barbarian get the pin at 5:08.
Winners: Diamond Dallas Page and The Barbarian via pin at 5:08
-When the best you can say is at least the matches are short, you know what you are working with here. Barbarian and Steiner suplexing each other for 30 seconds was fun. 3/4*
WCW United States Title: Konnan (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (w/ Sonny Onoo)
-Liger and Sonny bow to Heenan as they make their entrance to continue that story from Starrcade the previous year. Lockup to start and Konnan gets a quick take down into a pin attempt, but Liger bridges out. Another go and Liger flips out of an armlock and we get a stalemate as they flip around the ring. Oh, I should mention Mike Tenay is on commentary and Dusty is sitting this one out. Konnan rolls to the floor and Sonny throws some kicks which Konnan no sells. He goes after Sonny, but Liger cuts him off with a baseball slide and then a dive over the top. Back in the ring a brainbuster gets two. Liger gets a cross arm breaker, but Konnan escapes and goes to a modified STF and then to his own cross arm breaker. Liger escapes and gets a modified surfboard then into a Camel Clutch. Konnan gets to the bottom rope to escape. Liger continues the mat game with a modified bow and arrow, but eats a kick to the face. Liger starts firing off strikes and Konnan responds which actually wakes the crowd up a little bit. Liger with a somersault kick and then puts Konnan up top. Superplex brings him down and then Liger heads back up. He connects with a splash for two. A dropkick sends Konnan to the floor and Liger comes off the top, but Konnan catches him with a kick on the way down. Suplex escaped by Liger on the way back in and he ends up getting a bell to back suplex. Fisherman Buster gets two for Liger. Konnan catches Liger in the corner with an Alabama Slam for two as Tony thought that was it. Liger counters the Power Drop with a roll-up for two and then another one for two. Liger Bomb gets two! A slam from Liger but he eats two feet in the face as he comes off the top rope. Konnan gets Power Drop (Splash Mountain) for the pin at 9:30.
Winner and Still United States Champion: Konnan via pin at 9:30
-They worked hard to get the crowd into this one and it was a fun little match. Again, it took time to get these crowds used to this style, but it would all pay off eventually. ***1/4
-Mean Gene brings out Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Elizabeth, and Woman. Flair tells us that Savage has been locked up and goes for medical evaluation tomorrow. Flair talks about the party he is throwing in Baton Rouge before getting to Mongo. He talks some trash and that brings out Mongo. Flair challenges Mongo to find a football player to face him and Arn. Mongo brings out Kevin Greene and Flair clarifies he meant retire player. Greene is full on fire and totally was down for anything. Before George Kittle there was Kevin Greene. Security separates them and this all gets paid off next month at The Great American Bash.
Lord of The Ring Battle Royal: Scott Norton, Ice Train, Dick Slater, Earl Robert Eaton, The Public Enemy, Diamond Dallas Page and The Barbarian
-An eight man Battle Royal is weird to see for some reason. Tony lets us know that the winner becomes Lord of the Ring, gets a ring, and faces the WCW World Champion at The Great American Bash. That last part never happened. Everyone pairs off and then hangs out the ropes to tease being tossed. Barbarian lands a big boot and Page basically dives off the top rope. He skins the cat as Tony swear his feet hit the floor and he should be out of the match. It’s also weird to see a referee in the ring for the match as I am used to them just being on the floor. A whole lot of nothing going on here! Rocco Rock is the first man tossed as Dream marvels over split screen technology. Slater dumps Eaton, who punches Parker in the face. Slater jumps out to go after Eaton and is eliminated. Norton gets sent over the top to the floor. Ice Train hits a powerslam on Page, then Barbarian, then Grunge. Train and Barbarian double boot Grunge and then Train turns on Barbarian. Page hits each man with a Diamond Cutter and pins Grunge and Ice Train to eliminate them as I guess pins are allowed in this as well. Barbarian kicks out at two. He ducks the discus clothesline and gets one of his own for two. Page lands an elbow in the corner and gets caught putting his foot on the ropes. Barbarian with a roll-up for two. Barbarian spike Page with a Tombstone for two which pops the crowd. Sleeper from The Barbarian, but Page breaks with a mule kick to the balls. Page sets too early on backdrop and Barbarian folds him in half with a powerbomb for two. Barbarian gets a slam, but misses the top rope headbutt. Diamond Cutter again and this time it gets the in at 9:39.
Winner and Lord of The Ring: Diamond Dallas Page via pin at 9:39
-The Battle Royal portion sucked, but the Page/Barbarian one on one match at the end helped things. I enjoy Barbarian (and Meng) tossing people around the ring. Page winning was fine as well as it paid off his riches to rags back to riches story and was a sign they were ready to push him higher on the card. *1/2
-Page gets his ring as pyro goes off and Tony tells us again that Page will meet the WCW Champion next month. They do show a replay of Page’s feet hitting the floor earlier in the match. I can’t remember if they used that to take away Page’s World Title Match or if they just came to their senses and realized DDP was in no way ready or credible enough to challenge for the World Title at this point.
-The Giant is backstage with Gene. Jimmy Hart is panicked as he is being handcuffed to Luger during the match tonight. Giant cuts a promo while we hear feedback from the announce desk, but I can’t hear what they are saying. Giant also cuts a promo against DDP since he is apparently next in line.
WCW World Heavyweight Title: The Giant (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Sting (w/ Lex Luger)
-Super special ring introductions from Michael Buffer! Surfer Sting just looks bizarre after twenty years of some version of Crow Sting. Sting has started to let his hair grow out and is darker than the blonde days though. Sting tries a cross-body and bounces off The Giant. He jumps on the back and then starts firing dropkicks and then a clothesline and Giant barely budges. Giant smiles at Sting, so he bails to the floor to regroup. Sting gets the crowd into this as they are the loudest then have been all night. He avoids a chop in the corner and tries a kick, but The Giant catches his boot. Sting hits an enziguiri and it has no effect. Giant misses a charge in the corner and Sting goes for a slam, but he can’t hold him and Giant falls back on Sting for a two count. Giant walks on Sting’s chest and then drops an elbow. He fires Sting into the ropes and catches him with an elbow and then just stands on Sting’s back. To the corner for some shoulders and Sting throws in some punches here and there just to show he has some fight left. Giant drops a headbutt to the lower abs (belly welly per Dusty) and then chokes with his boot. Giant smartly targets the ribs and back with a body scissors and he uses the ropes for extra leverage. Jimmy begs Lex to rejoin his side and Lex is just focused on getting the crowd behind Sting. The ref finally catches Giant’s cheating ways and forces a break. Sting gets in one shot and gets tossed to the floor. Giant throws him up the aisle and teases a chokelsam through a nearby table. but Luger has Jimmy Hart on the table, so The Giant doesn’t go through with it. Skip that! Jimmy’s a manager he knows he has to make sacrifices. Heyman would have done it for Reigns! Back in the ring The Giant tries a dropkick, but Luger pulls Sting out of the way. Sting blindly swings an elbow and takes out the ref unknowingly. Sting ducks a splash and Giant gets caught on the top rope in the corner and Sting gets a Stinger Splash. He just starts beating on The Giant as Luger and Hart end up on the apron. Giant grabs Luger by the throat and Sting hits Stinger Splash after Stinger Splash, but Giant won’t let go of Luger. Sting finally gets Giant off his feet and gets stupid and tries a Stinger Splash on Hart, but he is able to slide off the top. Sting staggers back and falls heads first into Giant’s balls. Sting heads up and gets a splash, but Giant kicks out easily and Sting lands on top of the ref to take him out again. Hart tries to get the megaphone into the match as Sting hits another splash off the top. Luger and Hart fight over the megaphone while Sting gets The Scorpion Deathlock to a big pop. Luger pulls at the mega-phone and it hits Sting in the head which breaks the hold and he stumbles around the ring and into a chokeslam for the pin at 10:41
Winner and Still WCW World Heavyweight Champion: The Giant via pin at 10:41
-This was fun with a hot crowd. Giant was still improving and Sting was a perfect opponent as he is great as taking a beating from a monster. The ending stuff with Luger was a way to keep the “can you trust Lex” story going though it would be dropped when the nWo showed up in July. ***
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