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Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW SuperBrawl V
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written: 7.4.26
-Source: YouTube
-Run Time: 2:44:55
-Plug: Clash XXX
-Book Plug: Paperback and Kindle versions of my 1996 PPV Reviews Collection is available on Amazon. If you have purchased a copy, please leave me an honest review.
-Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
-Feb. 19, 1995
-Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, MD
-Attendance: 13,390
-PPV Buys: 180,000 (50,000 more than Starrcade)
-Tony, Bobby, and Gene welcome us to the show and throw to earlier in the day when a white limo pulled up. Vader gets out, but it seems Flair was in the limo as well. Another limo pulls up and Vader thinks it’s Hogan’s, so he punches the driver and smashes out a window. Thankfully, he did a better (safer) job that Goldberg. Tony is in the limo and runs out scared. Later, Vader shows up on the arena floor and shove Bischoff, who was working commentary for Main Event. Fifteen months later, Bischoff gets powerbombed by Nash in this same building. Vader then attacks the four men working a match in the ring. Great stuff as Vader looks like an unhinged monster.
Paul Roma vs. Alex Wright
-Yep, this match! Wright is undefeated and WCW had plans for him and Roma was supposed to make him look good. Let’s see how that goes! Roma attacks Wright before the bell and then gets a Gorilla Press Slam. Roma mocks Wright’s dancing and that gets a pop, but then some boos. The pop was there though. Randy Anderson starts yelling at Roma and I am not sure if that is normal banter for the fans, or if someone is already wise to what Roma is trying to do. Wright gets a sunset flip for two and then gets an armbar. They trade arm control and Roma ends up pulling Wright down by the hair. Wright keeps getting up and walks up the ropes and gets an armdrag. Hip-toss into a pin for two. Armbar again from Wright and Roma is more concerned with yelling at the fans instead of selling. Paul Orndorff is on his way down as I assume he is there to make sure Roma does what he is supposed to at this point. I wouldn’t mess with Wonderful! Ask Vader how that goes. Roma complains about Wright pulling the tights and yells at the fans some more. Roma counters with a head scissors and then start firing forearms to the back. Roma drops an elbow and then another. Backbreaker and another as Roma is smiling and having fun. He poses and again it’s a mix of cheers and boos, which isn’t the reaction those in charge wanted. He dumps Wright to the floor and the fans are waiting for Wonderful to get involved, but he stays away. Roma with a forearm to the chest and he kicks Wright to the floor again. Wright gets a small flurry and goes to sling shot in, but Roma decks him and gets a two count. Backslide by Wright gets a one count. Small package gets a one count. Roma right back on him with an elbow and then he stomps away. Roma gouges at the face in the corner and follows with a reverse chinlock. Boring chant from the crowd, so Roma uses the ropes to cheat and that at least gets the kids in the crowd screaming for the ref. The boring chant gets louder as the ref checks Wright’s arm. He rallies to his feet and elbows out of the hold. Roma grabs the ropes to avoid a dropkick and the crowd pops. Roma leaps up to the middle ropes heads up to drop a sky high elbow. He dances and celebrates like he won the World Title and then pulls Wright up two to make sure we know he could have won. He misses a charge in the corner and now Wright starts his comeback. Well, kind of as Roma sandbags him on a hip-toss. Wright with a cross-body out of the corner and the cover happens in the ropes, but the ref counts anyway, so Wonderful pulls Wright off the cover. Wonderful and Roma have a conversation and I assume it’s Wonderful telling Roma to get his shit together. Wright dropkicks Roma into Wonderful and then gets a roll-up for the pin at 13:22 even though Roma kicked out right before three.
Alex Wright via pin at 13:22
-Boring match, but famous for all the wrong reasons. Everyone should check it out to watch a man flush his career down the toilet. Roma was told by FedEx the next day that his contract would not be renewed and he was jobbed out until May. *
-Heenan wants to see a replay, but Tony says it’s not happening and throws to Gene in the back with Harlem Heat and Sister Sherri. The hype their Title defense against The Nasty Boys.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Bunkhouse Buck (w/ Colonel Parker and Meng)
-Macho Man is on the WCW Hotline with Mike Tenay. Duggan punches Buck with one hand while holding Old Glory in the other. It is July 4th as I review this, so AMERICA! Duggan runs Buck from corner to corner, so Buck gets desperate and bites the nose. Duggan back with a clothesline that sends Buck to the floor. The brawl on the floor until Patrick forces them back into the ring. Duggan hooks a reverse chinlock and smartly gets the crowd to start a USA chant so they can’t chant “boring.” Duggan drops elbows on the arm, but Buck gets to the ropes. Atomic Drop followed by a right hand gets a one count as Buck gets his bottom foot on the rope. Duggan with a right hand for another two count. He runs Buck’s head off the top buckle as the crowd counts along. Bobby gets on Tony for liking Mr. Rogers. Who doesn’t? Man is a legend and we need more people like him in this world. Back to the floor for more brawling. Then back in the ring, Buck gets a reverse chinlock. Blah! Lots of punching and kicking and Duggan wins the exchange. He delivers shoulders in the corner and gets a backdrop for two. Then back to a chinlock. Again, blah! I know Buck’s not Vader but just two months ago Duggan had a BANGER of a HOSS FIGHT and now we get this. They counter and trade holds as Duggan yells for the ref to get off his ass. Buck rakes the back, which does nothing. Duggan with right hands and Buck goes down again. Elbow drop gets two. Hey, back to the chinlock. That goes for a bit before Duggan gets a slam and drops a knee for two. Yep, back to the chinlock. There’s the boring chant from a few people in the crowd. Right hands and Buck staggers, so Duggan blows at him and he falls back. Duggan goes after Parker, which is stupid. Duggan with the mounted punches in the corner as the crowd counts along. Duggan then goes to a hammerlock as that’s what I want to see from these two. Buck’s shirt gets ripped off and Duggan gets another slam. This has gone way longer than needed and they are crawling to the finish. Parker gets bumped and Duggan hits the clothesline for the pin at 11:58.
Winner: Jim Duggan via pin at 11:58
-Boring and longer than these two needed. Six minutes to let them trade bombs and then go home, but they had to fill time so we get a run of chinlocks. 1/2*
-Meng in and hits Duggan with a superkick and hooks the nerve hold. Meng was booked like a killer as Parker’s muscle. It obviously worked.
Kevin Sullivan (w/ The Butcher) vs. Dave Sullivan
-Butcher was in the Main Event of Starrcade two months and now he is just a second for Sullivan. Kevin shaved the head of Dave and cut up his “magic slippers” (boots from Hogan). This is brother vs. brother, like Kane vs. Taker and not like Bret vs. Owen. Obviously, this match is nothing like Bret vs. Owen. Sullivan dominates early and Butcher some kicks in on the floor. Sullivan boots Dave in the head. Kevin keeps knock Dave to the floor, until he gets angry enough to fight his way back into the ring. He lands a few shots, but runs into a boot in the corner. Sullivan starts throwing strikes to the shoulder, so Dave bites him on the ribs. Kevin just ignores and chokes with his boot. Hard right hand by Kevin followed by chops in the corner. Dave fights back from his knees, but Kevin sends him to the floor by the tights. Butcher runs him into the steps. Dave throws more punches as he fights his way back into the ring for a second time. He lifts Kevin off the mat with a double choke. Again though, Kevin is right back on him with chops in the corner. Kevin has Dave on the ropes and drops his weight on his back. He tries again, but ends up squashing his balls. He doesn’t even sell that as he is right back on Dave. They fight in the corner and Dave lands rights hands before going ground and pound. Butcher has been standing on the apron as he was a bit early for his spot. Dave stares at Butcher, so Sullivan runs Dave into Butcher’s surgically repaired face and gets a roll-up for the win at 7:18. Butcher sells it like his face exploded which is weird as he has a run of matches with Hogan and nothing.
Winner: Kevin Sullivan via pin at 7:18
-Sullivan dominated and didn’t really sell anything from Dave. I can’t say it was worse than the last match because at least it was nearly five minutes shorter. 1/2*
-Sullivan helps Butcher part of the way up the aisle and then just walks away from him.
WCW World Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat (c) (w/ Sister Sherri) vs. The Nasty Boys
-I swear it seems like these two teams fought each other constantly in the mid 90s. All four men stare each other down and talk trash at the bell. Nasty chant from the crowd. Booker yells to a fan that he doesn’t want his report and calls him an idiot. Knobbs and Booker start us out after 90 seconds of stalling. Knobbs shoves Booker back into the corner. Booker gets arm control, but Knobbs backs him to the ropes. Knobbs with a slap to the face, so Booker goes to the eyes. Fair! Knobbs avoids a Harlem Sidekick and Booker ends up caught on the ropes. They bounce the ropes so takes a ride on his balls, which pops the crowd. Booker spills to the floor and Sags runs him over with a clothesline. Tag to Sags and we get a double clothesline. More abuse to Booker’s balls as Sags drops a head butt. He drops an elbow to the thigh, but I am pretty sure Booker’s balls took some more abuse. Inverted Atomic Drop follows. Booker has to go to the eyes and again, fair. Stevie gets the tag and he pounds on Sags in the corner with forearms. Stevie misses a charge in the corner and now Sags throws rights and lefts. Tag to Knobs and we get CLUBBERING in the corner. Not the same when Dusty isn’t on commentary but we will get there soon enough. The Nastys go after Stevie’s knee and work that for a bit. Stevie goes to the eyes and tags in Booker. So lots of eye and nut trauma in this one. Booker blocks a charge in the corner, but misses a clothesline and Knobbs gets a slam. Ground and pound from Knobbs before tagging Sags. Hey, Booker goes to the eyes again and then again before hitting a dropkick that sends Sags to the floor. Sherri and Stevie aren’t sure what to do and Sags ends up going head first into the railing. That was awkward as they couldn’t get on the same page. No matter though as Sags just takes back over once in the ring. Knobs back in and drops an elbow for two. Booker with another eye poke. Has to be a running joke for those involved at this point. Booker lands a back that sends Sags to the floor again. Sherri and Stevie are on the same page this time as Sherri lands a right hand. Booker misses an elbow and gives us an early spin-a-roni while Sags gets caught with a clothesline on the floor. Reverse chinlock from Booker to pass the time. Sags is able to break, but can’t follow up and gets dropped with a Harlem Sidekick. Stevie in to resume the reverse chinlock. Sags gets his foot under the bottom rope to force a break, but gets caught in the Heat corner. Booker in and hits an Ax Kick for two. Front facelock as this one has hit a wall the last 4 minutes. We finally get some old school tag tactics as Knobbs tries to come in and pulls the ref allowing The Heat to change off. Sags avoids an elbow and catches Booker with a powerslam. Tags on both sides though Knobbs gets to run wild. Clotheslines and slams all around. Running clothesline in the corner and then a double DDT to a big pop. Nice! Splash gets a two count as Booker makes the save. Sags throws Booker over the top which should be a DQ, but the ref missed it. Sherri off the top with her high heel and accidentally nails Stevie Ray. Sags with a roll-up and we have new Tag Champions at 17:03.
-But wait, as another ref (Randy Anderson) tells Patrick about Sags throwing Booker over the top rope and it’s now a DQ at 17:03.
Winners and Still WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat via DQ at 17:03
-They liked to give The Nasty Boys a lot of time in WCW. This had the most heat of any match on the card so far and the crowd was into it. It got a little boring, but the hot tag was strong. The finish was BLAH as I don’t remember WCW having a ref on the floor as back-up at this time, but it’s been over 30 years since I watched the show. *3/4
-Gene is backstage with Sting and Savage. Sting carries the promo as Savage paces around, throws things and tells us, “I’m not talking.” Funny!
-Tony hypes the new Uncensored PPV that debuts next month. I was pumped for that show back in the day as it seemed like something different.
Dustin Rhodes vs. The Blacktop Bully (w/ Colonel Parker and Meng)
-Bully had been a “fan” getting kicked out on a regular basis and ended up in jail. Parker paid $75,000 to bail him and now has him going after Dustin to continue the Parker/Rhodes feud that has been going on for a year. Nick Bockwinkel intercepts them in the aisle and sends Meng to the back. Dustin goes to ground and pound at the bell. Dustin isn’t even out of his jacket yet as he hits a lariat. To the corner for the mounted punches as the crowd counts along. Elbow! Bully clips the knee as Dustin celebrates. Bully helps Dustin out of his jacket as we get a hockey fight. Bully uses the jacket to choke and Tony says Bully can’t be disqualified because Dustin brought the jacket into the ring. What? That’s a new one to me. Bully eats a right hand and ends up on the ropes in the corner. Dustin punts him and Bully flops to the floor. After all that punching we settle into a wrestling match as Dustin gets a side headlock. Bully shoves off and Dustin runs him over with a shoulder tackle for two. Dustin works the arm, but gets too close and gets slammed. Dustin maintains arm control through. KFC chant from the crowd. I wish have some KFC at this point as I have a medical procedure tomorrow and I haven’t been able to eat for over 17 hours and can’t eat until tomorrow afternoon. Dustin transitions to a hammerlock as I would like them to go back to punching each other in the face. Bully backs Dustin into the corner and lands a right hand, but gets run over with another shoulder. Dustin fakes him out with a leap and gets an uppercut and then back to the arm. The crowd goes back to chanting KFC. I just noticed there is a fan in the front row dressed up like Meng. Bully counters with a front facelock and backs Dustin into the corner. Dustin sent to the opposite corner and comes off the ropes with a back elbow. Dustin goes for it again and fakes out Bully to land another uppercut. Suplex from Dustin gets two. Sunset flip, but Bully gets to the ropes and the ref kicks his arm away. That was always a crap spot to me as I viewed it as the ref cheating. He wasn’t using the ropes for leverage on a hold. Dustin goes after Colonel on the floor and sends Bully into the steps. Bully has looked like a goof here as Dustin is out smarting and dominating him at every turn. Back in the ring, Bully blocks a monkey flip and gets a clothesline for two. Bully sends Dustin to the floor so Colonel can get some kicks in. Fair! Bully gets in a few shots and hits a belly-to-back suplex for two. Reverse chinlock to slow things down. Dustin elbows out and goes for a cross-body, but Bully goes low and Dustin flies out of the ring and down the stairs. I never like the visual of the stairs in the middle of the apron. Steps need to be around the ring post. Snap suplex back in the ring. Bully to the middle ropes, but gets caught (kind of) with a clothesline on the way down. Heenan: “He didn’t get him good, I don’t think.” Dustin with a backdrop and now he pulls Bully’s shirt over his head for our second hockey fight. Atomic Drop followed by the bulldog, but it only gets two as Parker puts Bully’s leg on the ropes. Dustin goes after Parker and brings him with a suplex to pop the crowd. Bully misses a clothesline and ends up on the apron. Dustin goes with a suplex, but Parker grans the leg and Bully falls on top for the pin at 16:10. Parker pulled a Heenan. Cool!
Winner: The Blacktop Bully via pin at 16:10
-Boring match that Dustin dominated. Bully needed to get the win as this was his debut and they wanted to keep the feud going. I hope they have an interesting match for them at Uncensored. *
-Tony and Bobby discuss the matches left and there’s a “We Want Flair,” chant. Before that we go to Gene in the back with Vader. He is throwing chairs around and says it doesn’t matter who was in the limo with him.
-Now back to Bobby and Tony who throw to Gene on the ramp and here’s Ric Flair. He says he came to Baltimore for the party and brings up selling out the city with Dusty Rhodes. He mentions WCW being on fire with Savage, Sting, and Hogan. The crowd boos as he mentions Hogan’s name. Flair heads to the ring and will be sitting in the crowd.
Big Bubba Rogers and Avalanche vs. Sting and “Macho Man” Randy Savage
-This is Savage’s WCW PPV debut and his first PPV match since WrestleMania X. The crowd is really into this one as we have star power on the face side. Heenan nearly slips and calls Bubba by his WWF trademarked name. Some stalling to start, but the crowd is still on fire for this one, so they know they can take their time. Sting and Avalanche start and Sting throws clotheslines and dropkicks, but the big man won’t fall. Bubba grabs Sting from the apron which brings Savage in and that lets the heels double team as the ref forces Savage out. Bubba with a slam and heads up, but Savage grabs him leg, causing him to drop balls first. Sting with a superplex to pop the crowd. Bubba does the spot where he gets caught in the ropes and Sting punches him and he keeps swinging back. One final punch sends Bubba to the floor and Savage is right there with a double ax from the top. This crowd is losing it as this is a heck of a start to this one. Savage in as Bubba and Avalanche regroup on the floor. Heenan notes Flair is the “thing that stirs the drink.” That has Tony laughing and correcting Heenan. I assume Heenan may have had a drink or two that were stirred by a straw before this show. Bubba misses a clothesline, so Savage goes for a sunset flip. Bubba tries to drop but Savage avoids and gets a knee to the back and a roll-up for two. Savage slaps Avalanche in the face just because and that brings the big man back into the match. Another slap by Savage and the crowd loves it. Savage is feeling it because he is probably so happy to be back in the ring. He goes for a slam, and that goes as badly as you would think. Avalanche goes for a splash in the corner and gets stuck on the ropes. Savage kicks away and brings Sting in to do the same. He gets Avalanche off his feet and goes for the Scorpion but can’t get it. Savage and Bubba back in and again, this crowd is popping for everything. Sting with a Stinger Splash to Bubba and one to Avalanche and another to Bubba. He goes for another, but Avalanche plants him with a modified spinebuster. Flair starts yelling at Savage and all is right with the world because it’s a better place when Savage and Flair are trying to fight each other. Sting avoids a splash in the corner and gets a slam, but walks into a right hand for Bubba. That drops Sting, who falls head first into Avalanche’s little quakes. That’s a different take on a favorite spot of Sting. Hot Tag to Savage and double ax handles for everyone. All for men brawl and Savage gets a slam on Bubba. Savage heads up top and drops The Flying Elbow. Sting off the top with a cross-body on Avalanche, who falls over Bubba and that gets the pin at 10:17.
Winners: Sting and Randy Savage via pin at 10:17
-This was a lot of fun! The crowd loved every bit and it wasn’t the classic tag formula you would expect with either Sting or Savage getting dominated. This was all action with Sting and Savage being fired up and doing whatever they could to stick and move. I really enjoyed this. ***1/4
-Sister Sherri and Harlem Heat are on the WCW Hotline.
-Video package on the Hogan/Vader feud and interesting that they leave out Hogan no selling the powerbomb. Again, Hogan should have known better as he has made a ton of money getting destroyed by a monster in the build up to the match.
-Gene interviews Hogan backstage and he notes he will have to be buried six feet under, and now I am sad again. We are getting close to a year since his passing.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Big Van Vader
-I was so pumped for this back in the day. No Harley Race for Vader, which is weird. Vader bonds with a kid wearing a Vader mask. The man has a heart! Michael Buffer is here for the super, special in ring introductions and this match does have a big fight feel. Man, this should have been the Main Event at Starrcade. Vader is US Champion, but his title is not on the line here. The crowd is way into this one as you would expect. Lockup and Vader backs Hogan into the corner and flexes a bicep. Hogan with right hands and Vader just stares and shakes his head. He removes his mask as he tells Hogan he has “nothing.” Lockup and Hogan slaps Vader in the face and delivers right hands. Running clothesline in the corner and again, Vader just stares at him, which pops many in the crowd. Hogan seems stunned! We cut to Flair who calls a fan a punk and tells him to keep his mouth shut. Hogan goes to work on the arm, which Heenan notes is not Hogan as he is trying to wrestle. He gets an armbar, but Vader steps on his face and poses over Hogan again. They have the right idea here with Hogan not knowing what to do with Vader. Same story they told with Sting in his first match with Vader. Vader backs Hogan into the corner and starts boxing away. He beats Hogan down and hits a short arm clothesline and that has Heenan cheering. Splash in the corner from Vader and Hogan bails to the floor to regroup. Vader follows and beats Hogan around the ring. Hogan reverses a whip and Vader goes flying over the railing and onto Flair’s seat. Flair stands back while a pissed off Vader picks up the railing and moves it. Awesome! Hogan starts punching and chopping in the corner. He goes to the mounted punches in the corner as Tony is now cheering, which Heenan should have called him on. Clothesline drops Vader! Big Boot staggers Vader and a clothesline sends him over the top and to the floor. Hogan chant as his fans start making the most noise. Hogan pounds Vader down in the corner and chokes with his boot. That draws some boos from the Vader side of the crowd. Hogan goes for a slam, but Vader falls back on him. Vader runs him over and delivers a short right hand to the face. He starts throwing hooks to the body and side of the head. Vader poses as Hogan notes, “he’s too strong.” Hogan was in Rocky III, so using the Rocky IV story is fine. World’s Strongest Slam and Vader hits a Vader Bomb. Hogan barely kicks out and Vader can blame himself as it was a very loose cover. Vader heads all the way up, and that usually doesn’t work out well. He misses the moonsault as expected because you are insane if you think Hogan is taking that move. They brawl on the floor and Hogan uses a chair. Nasty as he swing it like a bat and thankfully, Vader got his hands up to block. Another chair shot and really, it should be a DQ, but the ref is letting them go. Hogan with piston like right hands as Tony notes he has never seen Hogan like this. Wait 15 months! Back in the ring Hogan misses a clothesline and Vader PLANTS him with a chokeslam to a big reaction. That was cool! Back to the corner for some more boxing action. Vader with a suplex for two. Hulk Up! Hogan punches away and hits the Big Boot! Leg Drop hits and Vader kicks out at one. DAMN! Hogan is stunned and argues with the ref. Vader squashes him and takes out the ref. Powerbomb, but there’s no ref. A pissed off Flair runs into the ring and counts. He then beats up the ref. Vader with a splash and the ref is awake. That gets two and another Hulk Up. Clothesline sends Vader to the floor, so Flair attacks and it’s a DQ at 15:10.
Winner and Still WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan via DQ at 15:10
-Match was great and would have been a hidden classic if it had finish. They obviously meshed well together because Hogan knows how to wrestler a monster and Vader is GREAT. Vader kicking out of the leg drop at one was heavy stuff at the time. Hogan was saved in this one by the ref being knocked out, which justifies Vader getting another shot. ***1/2
-Hogan beats up Flair, but the numbers catch up as Vader’s back in the ring. Flair hooks the figure-four as Vader heads up top. Savage and Sting are out for the save and then celebrate with Hogan.
-Thanks for reading!
