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Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Starrcade ’92: Battlebowl – The Lethal Lottery II
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Battle Bowl is back as this continues the NWA/WCW trend of adding whatever special stipulation/event they could think of to the biggest show of the year. We also have King of Cable Finals and a WCW and NWA World Title Match. Let’s get to it!
-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
-Dec. 28, 1992
-The Omni, Atlanta, GA
-Attendance: 8000
-PPV Buys: 95,000
-PPV buys down 70,000 buys from Halloween Havoc only two months ago. Shows again they had people interested in Sting/Roberts and crapped the bed with the whole thing.
-Eric Bischoff has a Special Report from the TV Studios. Rick Rude has a herniated disc and is out vs. Ron Simmons tonight. Dr Death takes his place. Who does Doc know to get that shot? Oh yeah!
-Tony Schiavone is in the ring with Bill Watts and Hank Aaron. They are starting a tradition where The Battle Bowl Winners will get a ring, and they bring out Sting to receive his since he won last year. Somewhere a young Tony Khan was watching and fell in love with the idea of giving out rings to wrestlers.
-This is early WCW so we have a million hosts, so we go to Larry Z and Missy Hyatt. They will be drawing more names for Lethal Lottery as the show rolls on tonight.
Lethal Lottery: Van Hammer and Dan Spivey vs. Cactus Jack and Johnny B. Badd
-The winning team advances to Battle Bowl as it is only 8 men this year and one ring instead of two. These teams were drawn at The Clash a few weeks ago. Weird decision as they have the same music playing during all four entrances. Not sure why that bothered me. Jesse is curious how Jack and Badd will team. Jack starts with Hammer and they have some history against each other this year. Jesse informs us that Hammer won his Strongest Arm Competition. I am shocked they didn’t include the finals of that on this show. Hammer hits a running clothesline in the corner and gets a slam. He drops a leg, but he’s not Hogan, so Jack is out at one. Badd gets the tag and hooks a side headlock. Hammer with a hip-toss and drops an elbow for a two count. Badd reverses a whip and gets a series of arm drags and then a rana to pop the crowd. Hammer didn’t really know how to take that and got spiked on his head. Ouch! Jack back in and breaks out a hip-toss, but misses an elbow. Spivey in and they start trading blows. Dan gets a boot up in the corner and hits a nice clothesline. Slam followed by a kick to the ribs. Badd and Hammer in and Spivey cheats as he lands a knee to Badd from the apron. Hammer does not approve, but Spivey doesn’t care and tags himself back into the match. Bearhug by Spivey and before I can complain, he tags out to Hammer. He gets a belly-to-back suplex for two. Back to Spivey, but Badd knocks him down and falls to make the tag to Jack. He unloads with right hands and gets the crowd into the match. Bulldog followed by an elbow gets two. It’s no wonder they were turning Jack face. The fans were already getting behind him. Jack lands another clothesline and looks for a tag, but Badd is on the floor trying to regroup. Hammer in and he hits a flying shoulder. Badd tries to break, but accidentally elbows Jack. Cactus obviously wants answers, and shoves Badd. He responds with a left hook and Hammer coves for the pin at 6:54. Kind of a dick move by Badd. No wonder he took shots at Badd in his book! I know they made up, but still!
Winners: Dan Spivey and Van Hammer via pin at 6:54
-Weird decision to have Spivey and Hammer win this one as Badd and Jack were getting over with the crowd. It was a basic tag match, with the crowd loving Jack. *1/2
-Missy, Tony, and Larry draw the next teams: Vader/Dustin vs. Sasaki/Barbarian
Lethal Lottery: Dustin Rhodes and Big Van Vader (w/ Harley Race) vs. Kensuke Sasaki and The Barbarian
-Dustin and Vader just faced off in the semis of the King of Cable, which Ross mentions. Vader starts with Barbarian which would be a HOSS FIGHT. They shake hands and Jesse is happy to see great sportsmanship. Barbarian throws a clothesline, but Vader just stares him down. Another go and Vader hits a clothesline and Barbarian smiles at him. So they are even! Barbarian gets a slam and it doesn’t really hurt Vader, but he seems embarrassed. Lockup and Vader lands a head-butt. He lands a right hand and gets his own slam and Barbarian pops right up. Lockup and nothing! They run into each other and nobody budges. Again and nothing. A third time and Vader just jumps at him to knock him on his ass. He backs Barbarian into the corner and throws heavy fists and then forearms. Things get ugly as Vader goes for a kick, but it misses or Barbarian didn’t take it. Who knows? They go back to throwing clotheslines and finally a tag is made to Dustin. We get some decent teamwork as they hit a modified version of a Hart Attack for two. Belly-to-back gets two. Sasaki in and he gets caught with an elbow in the corner. Dustin fires off chops but Sasaki cuts him off with a clothesline. He tries to come off the ropes, but Dustin catches him with a dropkick. Vader back in and he heads up and comes off the middle ropes onto Sasaki. Powerslam gets two! Sasaki might be bleeding from the nose. He floats over on a suplex and catches Vader with a dropkick. He runs into a boot from Vader. Ross tells us it’s the lip that’s bleeding. Suplex from Sasaki and a tag is made to the Barbarian. Rhodes in as well as it’s Rhodes vs. The Bloodline (well, Tongan, but to works). Dustin goes after Sasaki on the apron for breaking up a pin. That leads to Barbarian accidentally hitting Sasaki and Dustin gets a roll-up for the pin. That’s 2 for 2 with partner miscommunication leading to a loss.
Winner: Dustin Rhodes and Big Van Vader via pin at 6:57
-Some sloppy stuff but they were hitting each other hard. Not a fan of running a similar finish in back to back matches. **
-Dustin is dumb enough to celebrate with Vader after the match, and sure enough Vader drops him with a clothesline. Harley can’t help himself and gets in a shot as well.
-Our next drawing: Windham/Muta vs. Scorpio/Pillman!
Barry Windham and The Great Muta vs. 2 Cold Scorpio and Brian Pillman
-Windham had just turned heel the previous month and Pillman was still in the early days of his heel turn. Barry and Scorpio start and do some chain wrestling. Noting of much happening, so Muta comes in and the crowd is still in awe of him. He always had this mystique about him when he showed up in NWA/WCW. Pillman in and he vs. Muta could be fun! Pillman with a perfect dropkick to the face for two. Muta gets a shoulder tackle and then we start flipping and flying. Muta gets a dropkick and goes to a side headlock on the mat for a couple two counts. Barry back in and he had been teaming with Pillman the last few weeks and have a match for the Tag Titles later tonight. They start chopping the shit out of each other and Pillman just smiles at Barry. Muta back in as the crowd starts a “Muta” chant. Pillman drives him face first into the canvas. He gets a shoulder tackle, but gets CAUGHT with a spinning kick to the jaw. That looked great! Pillman pulls Muta face first into the middle buckle and brings Scorpio back into the match. He hits a clothesline for a two count. He goes for a splash, but Muta gets the knees up to block. Barry back in and he hits a lariat and drops a leg for two because he’s not Hogan. Though they wanted us to think he was at Slamboree 94. Double Dropkick and the Muta lands a power elbow drop. Scorpio reverses a whip and gets a shoulder in the corner. He follows with a slam and hits a leg drop out of the corner for two. Muta responds with another spinning kick. Scorpio back with a slingshot splash from the ramp for two as Barry makes the save. Everyone in the ring and Barry hits a sweet Implant DDT. Moonsault from Muta and Scorpio actually kicks out right at three to make it look weird. Weird!
Winners: Barry Windham and The Great Muta via pin at 6:59
-This was okay, but kind of disappointing as I was expecting more. No clue what Scorpio was doing as he was still new in the company and kicking out like that where it makes the ending look weird is certainly something to try. **3/4
-The final drawing as apparently Sting is already in this pairing as the defending Champion. He gets Dr. Death and they will face Watts and Liger.
Sting and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams vs. Erik Watts and Jushin Thunder Liger
-This is like Cowboy’s dream as his son gets to work against Dr. Death with JR on commentary. The crowd is pretty jacked as Sting and Luger start this one. I would be fired up to see these two go at it as well. Sadly, they don’t do too much before Sting brings Doc into the match. Liger escapes a suplex as Ross notes these two compete for different organizations in Japan. THE FORBIDDEN DOOR HAS BEEN KICKED DOWN. Also, this is part of the reason Doc was gone after this show. Watts in and he ducks a series of clotheslines and gets a cross-body for two. Doc throws some chops, but a blind tag is made by Liger. He fires away with kicks in the corner, but gets run over with a clothesline for two. Sting back in and he runs Liger upside down into the corner for a two count. Liger gets a sunset flip for one. Back to Doc and he flattens Liger with a chop. Doc throws Liger throat first on the top rope and then talks some trash to Watts. Sting back and he hits a clothesline for a two count. Slam from Sting for another two count. Stinger Splash misses but Sting quickly tags out. Doc stomps away on Liger as the goal seems to be to keep Watts out of the match as much as possible. At least I hope and it’s not to build to a Watts Hot Tag where he runs wild on everyone. Sting back in and he hooks a Half Boston Crab. Liger fights to the ropes to force a break and we get another tag to Doc. Sting and Doc have had over a half dozen tags, while only two by Watts and Liger (with one being a blind tag). Doc throws forearms, but Liger gets a sleeper. Doc hits a sweet suplex to break and Sting gets the tag and dives in for a two count. Suplex for Sting and it’s been interesting watch him work kind of like a heel here, or at least as someone fighting as a heavyweight. The hot tag is made to Watts and yep, he gets to run wild and HITS THE FAMOUS DROPKICK THAT HAD THE INTERNET WRESTLING COMMUNITY EXPLODING BEFORE IT REALLY EXISTED. Oh man, that was so bad and all JR could muster was “he didn’t get all of it.” Doc ends up catching him with a stun-gun for the pin at 9:10.
Winners: Dr Death and Sting via pin at 9:12
-I mean, everyone should probably watch the match just for the dropkick. I was kind of disappointed by the Sting/Liger stuff. Doc seemed motivated, but he probably enjoyed throwing Liger around the ring. They smartly kept Watts out as much as possible before having him take the pin. *1/2
NWA World Championship: Masahiro Chono (c) vs. The Great Muta
-Muta is now pulling triple duty tonight as he qualified for the Battle Royal later in the show. These two battled for the NWA Title earlier in the year in Tokyo and this is the rematch. This is also a battle for future nWo members. The trade strikes to start and Chono gets a running boot. Nothing else really happens so they circle each other and start again. Chono gets a head scissors, but Muta escapes and grabs an ankle. Chono to one leg and he hits an enziguiri. Muta bails to the floor to regroup. Ross has to cover for Jesse when he mentions this is the first time they have met for the NWA World Title. He tacks on, “in the United States,” and they we get awkward silence. Man, Chono brought all the boring the previous PPV with Rude and it’s starting that way again. We get a knuckle lock before Muta floats over into a Full Nelson. He switches to an abdominal stretch, but Chono reverses. The crowd starts a Muta chant to get something going here. Muta does escape and gets a short-arm scissors. Chono gets an armbar from his back, but Muta kicks at the legs and goes to a head scissors. Thrilling! The crowd gets scary quiet for portions of this match. Chono counters and goes to work on the leg, but Muta gets to the bottom rope. Six plus minutes in and nothing really of note is happening. They tease fighting on the floor, but Muta rolls back into the ring. Lockup and Chono gets arm control. He turns into a hammerlock and takes it to the mat. Muta tries to arm-drag his way out but Chono rolls with him to maintain control. We are getting some boos from the crowd now. Chono with a slam and he heads up, but Muta meets him and gets a superplex. That at least got a reaction from the crowd. Backdrop from Muta as this one needs to get going. Half Crab from Muta which isn’t what I wanted to see. Indian Deathlock from Muta to kill more time. Muta bridges back and pulls on the chin as well. Chono gets to the ropes to break. Chono fights back and hits a snap suplex, but gets caught with a spinning kick to the ribs. Chono bails to the floor to regroup as we can’t get anything going in this match. Back in the ring Muta hits The Handspring Elbow and that gets the crowd awake. It only took 12 minutes! Muta with a backbreaker and tries the Moonsault, but Chono rolls away. Muta lands on his feet, but looks to have damaged his knee. Chono goes after the knee and then hits a running kick to the face. Muta is desperate and gets a small package for two. They both try for a drop kick and you can hear a groan from some in the crowd. It would take a few years and a lot more flipping to get the crowd to offer a standing ovation with that spot. Muta counters a suplex and falls back on top for a two count. Good near fall there! Muta misses a dropkick and Chono gets the STF for the submission at 14:31.
Winner and Still NWA World Champion: Masahiro Chono via pin at 14:31
I mean, it was certainly boring and Chono is now 2 for 2 in delivering boring World Title defenses on PPV in the US. The last 3 minutes started to get moving, but not enough to make up for the first 11 minutes. It was shorter than Chono/Rude at least. 1/2*
-Hey, Bill Watts is doing another Tournament with the winner of this one facing Rude for the US Title on Jan. 23. If Rude isn’t cleared, he will be stripped of The US Title.
-Speaking of Rude, he is here and says he has been stabbed in the back by a neurosurgeon. I believe the idea was that Rude was beating Simmons tonight, but that could just be a rumor. Rude is rightly pissed about The US Title decision and Jesse is there to stand up for Rude. Jesse always being in Rude and Savage’s corner on commentary was cool to see.
WCW World Championship: Ron Simmons (c) vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams
-Poor Ron gets stuck in the middle of the show as World Champion again. Ross doesn’t even let both men get to the ring before going into the football backgrounds. He covers that Simmons was at Florida State while Doc was at Oklahoma and they played against each other in The Orange Bowl in 1979 and 1980. Jesse just ignores that and goes back to the politics against Rick Rude. Ross and Jesse actually get into it a bit over the whole Rude thing. Doc wants a handshake and after a few seconds of questioning what to do, Simmons takes the offer and it’s a clean handshake. I am digging Ron’s FSU themed tights. Simmons hooks a side headlock and not much happens off of it. They end up calling against each other and neither budges. Ron wants to go old school football as they lineup. They collide again and neither moves. They each start breaking it down before another go. This time Ron leaps over Doc and gets a clothesline to knock him down. Cool! Simmons hooks an armbar, but Doc rolls to the floor to break. Back in the ring, Simmons grabs the arm, so Doc goes to the hair to force a break. Ron goes back to work on the arm and shoulder. Doc uses the hair to break again and Ron is getting a tad annoyed. Jesse notes that Ron better realize Doc will do whatever he can to win the World Title. They start trading punches and Ron with this exchange. Ron catches a charging Doc with a back elbow and gets a bulldog for two. Back to the arm. Hammerlock and Simmons tries a Hammerlock Slam, but it ends up just being a regular slam. Ron heads up top and misses. Doc takes over and runs the knee off the apron. Dropkick to the knee which looked kind of weak, but after seeing the Watts dropkick, why complain about any other ones on this show? Doc works a half-crab and then hammers the damaged knee into the mat. Simmons lands a right hand from his back, but Doc catches him with a boot to the back of the knee. Doc hooks a knee-bar as the crowd is dropping after being invested early. Jesse notes that JR is lucky Oklahoma and Florida State aren’t playing this year. I checked and Oklahoma went 5-4-2 on the season. Florida State went 11-1 and finished #2 in the Polls behind National Champion Alabama. Funny enough, Alabama and Florida State play each other this weekend as I review this show. Oh the match! Not much going on as Doc has remained in control. He gets a slam and a football charge to the bad knee. He connects a second time as Jesse notes “this isn’t football.” They sure talk about it a lot though. A third try is blocked as Ron gets a clothesline. He hits a Spinebuster and hits his own series of running tackles to the knee. He also misses the third one and ends up on the floor. Should have learned from Doc’s mistakes. They battle on the floor and the crowd is back into it at least. Again, these matches are solid when they are just trading bombs. They fight on the floor to a double count-out at 15:15.
-Wait, as they continue to fight on the floor. They get back in the ring and Doc comes off the top and drives Ron into the mat. Nick Patrick has apparently disqualified Doc and Ron gets the win. What kind of crap is that? I agree with Jesse as he asks, “for what?”
Winner and Still WCW World Champion: Ron Simmons via DQ at 15:15
-The match was boring but had it’s moments, but man was that ending dumb with the double count-out and even worse with the DQ. Ron would lose the World Title two days later to Vader. *
Unified World Tag Team Championship (WCW and NWA): Shane Douglas (c) and Ricky Steamboat (c) vs. Barry Windham and Brian Pillman
-Pillman and Barry were on opposite teams earlier in the night and still have Battle Bowl later in the show. Shane and Pillman start and just a few years later these two are completely different characters. They start with a quick pace and Pillman eats some right hands, so he slows things down in the corner. Douglas gets a hammerlock, but Pillman breaks and fires off chops. He chokes Shane on the top rope but misses wildly on a clothesline. Douglas with a leap frog and hits a dropkick that sends Pillman to the ramp. Barry rushes in and eats a bunch of double team moves and ends up on the floor as well. Barry seems pissed as he demands the tag and Steamboat wants some of Barry. They start trading blows at each other and Dragon gets a chop to the head and a double chop to the chest. Suplex follows! Dragon hooks a front face lock and throws some right hands. Douglas off the top with a double axe and he hooks a reverse chinlock. Barry powers to his feet and breaks with a belly-to-back suplex. Dragon back in and he gets a snap mare and takes a cheap shot at Pillman. Interesting! Barry gets dumped to the floor and Dragon gets a slam on the concrete floor. Jesse notes he has never seen Ricky this vicious. I don’t man know, he was rather pissed at Mania III. Douglas gets a slam on the ramp as the faces are being kinds of dicks here. Back in the ring, Ricky gets a swinging neckbreaker for two. Shane back in and he hooks a reverse chinlock. Jawbreaker gets Barry free and a tag is made to Pillman. He gets his own jawbreaker and then chokes away on the mat. Chops in the corner! Windham lands an elbow from the apron, but Douglas puts Pillman on the apron. He hits a dropkick and Pillman goes flying into the railing. Shane heads up top, but Barry distracts him enough for Pillman to hit a dropkick that sends Shane to the floor. Barry runs him over with a clothesline and after what they did to Barry on the floor, it seems fair. Pillman snaps his beck off the rope rope and chokes some more. Barry off the top with a clubbing blow to the back. Shane tries to fight back, but one boot from Barry shuts that down. Pillman throws forearms to the chest behind the ref’s back, which is always appreciated. Slingshot under the bottom rope and that move never looked good to me. Pillman back in and he fires off a heavy chop. To the corner for some more and again, Shane starts fighting back. Pillman is smart enough to tag out though and Barry just destroys Shane as he throws him to the floor and he cracks off the railing. Dragon comes over and uses a chair on Barry behind the ref’s back. I get the idea that Dragon is pissed at what Barry did at The Clash, but still weird seeing him so blood thirsty. Shane nearly gets a tag, but Pillman cuts that off with a belly-to-back suplex. It has taken a little it but the crowd is starting to get into this one. I blame the last two World Title matches for taking the steam out of the crowd. Barry off the top with a right hand. He gets two off a belly-to-back suplex. Shane sells the beating well as he bounces off the ropes and crumbles to the ramp. Pillman back in and he his a back elbow followed by a snap suplex and splash for two. Pillman pulls Steamboat into the ring and that lets Barry and Brian cheat behind the ref’s back. Sweet! Barry back in but Shane powers up and gets a suplex. He lands one last punch to Barry and falls back to make the tag. Dragon runs wild with dropkicks, slams, and chops to a good reaction. He rushes into a bodyslam though and that gets the Barry fans roaring. Cool! Nice belly-to-back suplex and now Pillman is in and he immediately suckers Shane into the ring, so he can pitch Dragon over the top. Barry runs him into the post and JR wants a DQ. I mean, Dragon uses a chair behind the ref’s back. Also, the post being a DQ would be wild to me. I understand the point, but figured any part of the ring was fair game. Pillman counters a slam with a head scissors with draws an “ohhh” from the crowd. Barry in and he tells Dragon to stick it. Dragon points his finger at Barry and they start trading right hands vs. chops. The crowd is fully into this one now. Barry lands a shot to the abs, but misses coming off the top. Superkick from Dragon and he plants Barry face first onto the mat. Tag to Pillman, but Shane is in as well. Shane gets to run wild with slams and elbows on both men. Everyone in the ring as Pillman takes a backdrop. Barry and Dragon spill over the top to the ramp. Pillman gets caught charging with the belly-to-belly suplex for the pin at 20:01.
Winners and Still Unified World Tag Team Champions: Shane Douglas and Ricky Steamboat via at 20:01
-Fun stuff here as they just put in work with classic tag action to get the comatose crowd into the match and it built to a fire final 5 minutes. This show needed a match like this! ****
King of Cable Tournament Finals: Sting vs. Big Van Vader (w/ Harley Race)
-Others have mentioned it but it is kind of weird having a King of Cable Tournament decided on PPV. The winner gets a trophy. So Sting got a ring earlier and now has a chance to earn a trophy. Both men still have a chance to win Battle Bowl later tonight. Vader mauled Sting in their first match back at The Great American Bash as he won the WCW World Title. We never get an opening bell unless it was drowned out by Sting’s music. So the match time may seem off. Ross notes that Sting wants to take this match long to try to get Vader gassed. Vader pie faces Sting and shoves him down. Sting fires off rights and lefts and Vader just shakes his head at him. Scary! Vader gets a slam and Sting isn’t hurt, but you can tell he is a little concerned. Another slam and this one had a little more behind it. Sting gets dumb and charges and Vader just flattens him. Gorilla Press Slam and he throws Sting with one arm throat first on the top rope. He does it a second time and it’s kind of awesome as it looks like Sting might end up getting tossed to the floor. Jesse questions if Sting should give up here and save himself to win Battle Bowl. So I guess that means Battle Bowl > King of Cable. Sting gets a rolling heel kick and hits a suplex. Clothesline from Sting and a second one sends both men over the top and to the floor. Vader has lost his head gear as the crowd loves them some Sting right now. Sting slings out with a crossbody to the floor and takes out Race and Vader. The crowd is the loudest it has been all night. Sting gets too close as Vader heads back into the ring. Vader boxes him in the corner, but misses a splash. Stinger Splash also misses as Vader gets a boot up to block. Sting back with his own boot to the face and he hits a DDT to pop the crowd again. Sting puts Vader up top and the crowd is up to see what’s going to happen here. Sting actually gets a superplex, though for a secon, it looked like it might be a DDT before Vader flipped over at the last second. Scorpion Death Lock but Vader gets to the floor. Sting is dumb enough to try a Stinger Splash out there and as always happens, he misses and Sting crashes into the railing. Sting is able to stumble back into the ring as Ross wants the ref to be careful here. Short-arm clothesline! Splash in the corner followed by a heavy clothesline. Awesome! These two were made to fight each other! Vader just throws straight right hands and hits a sweet belly-to-back suplex. Another splash gets two! Vader basically cost himself as he hooked the leg too much and Sting was able to just roll over to kick-out. Vader starts stretching Sting and delivers a nasty look short clothesline from a kneeling position. Sting blocks another one and fights to get a backslide for two. Sting tries a sunset flip. Vader tries to drop South, but Sting moves. Vader is up first though and throws another right hand and then a kick to the ribs. Sting gets a belly-to-back suplex now but Vader is still in a better position and gets the pin for a two count. Jesse: “that has to be depressing as heel when you do the move and the other guy is up first.” Truth! Vader boxes away in the corner, but Sting is doing whatever he can to get his hands up to block. He continues to keep the arms up as he is trying to get Vader to punch himself out and Ross is all over that. Vader puts Sting up top and preps for a superplex, but Sting goes to the eyes and a right hand sends Vader crashing to the floor. Sting still can’t follow up though! Vader is up first and starts punching in the corner again. Sting covers as he is determined to see this strategy through. He goes Rocky III mode as he eggs Vader on like Clubber Lang. Cool! Everyone loves Rocky III. Well, except CM Punk. There, I finally worked that joke in a review! Vader starts to tire and now Sting starts unloading with haymakers. He drops the big man and hits a Samoan Drop! Vader is too close to the ropes, so Sting heads up and hits a splash, but Vader is out at two. Race is on the apron to distract Sting and Vader decks him from behind and nearly decked Race as well. Chokeslam from Vader! He connects with a splash from the middle ropes, but bounces off instead of hooking the pin. He heads up again and this time it’s the top rope. Sting catches him on the way down with a powerslam for the pin at 17:23. What makes that cool is that Simmons beat Vader for the World Title by catching him with a powerslam.
Winner and King of Cable: Sting via pin at 17:23
-This was fantastic! Sting got mauled last time, but came in with a new strategy and it worked as he got Vader tired, survived long enough, and caught Vader with a move that beat him earlier in the year. Vader beating the crap out of Sting is always great and Sting leaning how to face the monster made it even better. ****1/2
-Tony Schiavone has a sit-down interview with Green Bay Packer legend, Paul Hornung, about the importance of Championship Rings.
8 Man Battlebowl Battle Royal
-Last year it was 20 men and two rings. It would be really dumb to have two rings for only eight men. Sting is looking to win the first two of these like The Packers did with SB I and II. We have Dan Spivey, Dustin Rhodes, Muta, Barry Windham, Dr. Death, Van Hammer, Vader, and Sting. Vader attacks Sting on the ramp to start this one which shouldn’t shock anyone after the war they just had, and Vader is just a little bit ticked off. Vader runs down the ramp and dives over the ropes into Sting. We get splint screen action on the bottom while third off the screen, but they ditch it after a few seconds. Yeah, we don’t need 3 screens to cover 8 men in one ring. Today, this wouldn’t be a Battle Royal and instead a 8 Man Ladder Match with the winner trying to retrieve the ring. Not a Sonic ring though. Barry/Dustin and Sting/Vader beating on each other makes all the sense. Jesse rails against the faces saving each other from being eliminated. Man has a point! Vader rocks Dustin in the corner until he is forced to fight back with elbows. Doc with a clothesline on Muta and it was kind of weak and way Muta sold it didn’t help. The crowd freaks out as Sting nearly gets eliminated. Sting hooks a reverse chinlock on Vader, which I don’t need to see in a Battle Royal. Barry and Dustin go through the ropes as Hammer is the first to get tossed over the top. So, he is gone at 6:00 thanks to Doc. Dustin hits Barry with a bulldog on the ropes. Sting tosses Spivey at 6:33 as getting dumped on the elevated ramp counts as well. Only makes sense! The six that really had any chance of winning are left. Vader throws himself at Sting and they both go over the top at 7:55. We are down to four and the two favorites are gone. Sting won King of Cable, so he didn’t need to win this as well. Vader winning it would have been fine though to make up for the earlier loss, but I guess he gets a better win a few days later. Barry is bleeding from the nose as Dustin works him over with his cast. Barry plants Dustin with a DDT as they are carrying this match. Barry heads up top, but Dustin slams him to mat. Jesse has no idea why Dustin didn’t just push him to the floor. We get another double elimination at 11:24 as Doc charges at Dustin and they both spill to the floor. We are down to Barry and Muta and the crowd is alive as they want Muta to win this thing. Barry with a suplex and he floats over and it looked like the ref was ready to count out of instinct. Muta holds onto the ropes to avoid being tossed, so Barry hits him with a belly-to-back suplex. Superplex follows! Muta skins the cat as Barry things he won. He comes back in and hits a series of dropkicks with the last one eliminating Windham at 14:00. Good pop for Muta’s win and we get pyro!
Winner: The Great Muta at 14:00
-This was mostly your normal, boring Battle Royal, but Sting/Vader and Barry/Dustin provided some good moments. The finish was fun as the crowd was into The Muta win. This would set things up down the line. *1/2
-Ross and Jesse close the show while plugging SuperBrawl in Feb. and The Tokyo Dome show on Jan. 4. I’m sure those Jan 4 Dome shows will never amount to anything.
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