Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW WrestleWar ’91

-We roll on with 1991 as WCW has their first PPV offering of the year. Let’s get to it!

-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Dusty Rhodes
-Feb. 24, 1991
-Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, AZ
-Attendance: 6800
-PPV Buys: 160,000

WCW Six Man Tag Team Championship: Ricky Morton (c), Tommy Rich (c) and Junkyard Dog (c) vs. Big Cat and The State Patrol (Lt. James Earl Wright and Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker)

-Our champions don’t even have Title Belts with them. What’s up with that? Ross tells us they just won the titles a few weeks ago in Atlanta. So where are the belts? Cat starts with Dog and that seems appropriate. Dog lands a clothesline and then a head butt and Cat scurries to make a tag to Wright. Morton in and we get a double back elbow. They may have 6800 in there, but that arena looks empty as they did not make it look good for TV. Double clothesline by Morton and Rich. Wright tries a Press Slam but Rich floats over and gets a slam. He goes for an elbow, but Wright rolls out of the way and Rich is able to put on the brakes. Wright goes to the eyes and gets a slam. Parker in and he misses an elbow. Rich with an arm-drag. Parker forces a break but gets mowed down with a shoulder and then a hip-toss into an arm-drag. Tag to Morton and he delivers an inverted atomic drop. Wright in and he gets an regular atom drop that sends him to the floor. Dog back in and he hits a head-butt. The Cat wants another pieces as this timeless rivalry continues. Test of Strength and God Bless the crowd as they are into this. They trade head-butts and Cat wins the exchange. He drops an elbow for a two count. Parker back in and Dog has no time to deal with him and tags to Morton. Cat distracts the ref which lets Wright bury a knee from the apron. Top Rope head butt gets a two count. Double Shoulder from State Patrol gets another two count. Cat in with an elbow to the back of the head of the head for two. Dropkick from Big Cat gets another two. Ross lets us know Arn Anderson is injured and will not be in War Games tonight. Cat with a slam, but misses an elbow. Ross then lets us know that Larry Zbyszko will be taking Arn’s place. Morton has a comeback stopped buy a powerslam from Parker for two. Wright in and we get a double backbreaker and double elbow for two. Cat back in and he catches Morton trying a cross-body and gets a backbreaker for two. Cat decks Rich on the apron, so we get some cheating behind the ref’s back. Parker misses a charge in the corner and HOT TAG to Dog. He runs wild and hits a Thump but Cat breaks up the pin. Morton then jumps on for the pin at 9:52.

Winner and Still WCW Six Man Tag Team Champions: Ricky Morton, JYD, and Tommy Rich via pin at 9:52
-This was a decent opener that was worked well and the crowd was enjoying it. Everyone got in and out and hit their stuff and it was okay. **1/2

-Schiavone is with Terry Taylor and Ms. York and the computers have Taylor winning in under 15 minutes. Tony asks Taylor for a prediction and he is ripping off Clubber Lang as he predicts “pain.”

Brad Armstrong vs. Beautiful Bobby

-No more Midnights as Eaton is on his own. Armstrong turns his back at the sound of the bell and Eaton attacks. Well, you can’t say Eaton jumped him because the bell rung. Armstrong back with a head scissors into an arm-bar. Eaton uses the hair to back Armstrong into the corner and lands his famous right hand. Reverse to the corner and Armstrong with a monkey flip and then an arm-drag back into the arm-bar. Eaton delivers a knee to break and sends Brad to the floor. They brawl out there as Armstrong sends Eaton into the railing and then into the post. We get a test of strength back in the ring. Armstrong climbs up Eaton to break and runs up the corner and hits a cross-body for two. Back to the arm-bar. Eaton lands another right hand to break! Eaton wants a slingshot suplex, but Armstrong adjusts and gets a suplex for his own. Eaton back as he gets a few two counts and hooks a headlock. We see Muta sitting in the crowd as JR hypes the WCW/NJPW Super Show that is coming soon. I don’t think that’s on Peacock, so I guess no review. Armstrong fights to his feet, but Eaton gets a knee-lift and then hits a sweet slingshot backbreaker. Don’t see that one often! Eaton back to a reverse chinlock. The work is hard here, but the crowd is kind of checked out. JR and Dusty continue to plug the upcoming show in Japan. Eaton hits a back elbow to send Armstrong to the floor and then follows. He drops Armstrong chest first on the railing. Back in the ring Bobby gets an abdominal stretch and uses the ropes for leverage which gets the crowd into the match. He plays games with the refs, but Anderson gets creative and goes through the legs to catch the cheating. Eaton misses a splash in the corner and crushes his balls. Armstrong with a side Russian Leg Sweep for two as Eaton gets his foot on the bottom rope. Whip to the corner and Armstrong sets too early on a backdrop and gets caught with a neckbreaker. Eaton finishes with Alabama Jam for the pin at 12:51. 



Winner: Beautiful Bobby via pin at 12:51
-Solid match between two pros! The crowd wasn’t into it at first but they sucked them into it by the end. ***

-SuperBrawl commercial!

Itsuki Yamazaki and Mami Kitamura vs. Miki Handa and Miss A

-As they mentioned during the last match there is a WCW/NJPW Show coming up and they throw NJPW a bone by letting the women get some PPV time. Itsuki and Mami get the standard Japanese theme they would use for many different Japanese wrestlers over the years. There is a lot of whistling from the crowd. All four in the ring after a handshake. Itsuki off the top with a arm bar into a arm-drag. She comes off the ropes with a sunset flip and then a tag to Mami. She throws forearms on Miss A, but that doesn’t go well. The crowd groans with the clotheslines and kicks from Miss A. Ouch! Tag to Handa and she gets a knock down. Backdrop from Handa and then a slam for a two count. Miss A back in and she gets a two count. She goes to work on the knee. Whip to the corner, but Mami gets a back elbow off the ropes. Tag to Itsuki who tries a double under hook and powers into the suplex to pop the crowd. Cool! Tag back to Mami who hits a nice belly to back suplex for two, but Handa breaks the count. Miss A makes the tag and Mami gets a small package for two. She hits a shotgun dropkick in the corner followed by a bulldog and again, the place pops. Itsuki back in with a rolling head butt to the chest and then a suplex for two. Miss A back in and she fires off rapid kicks to the chest in the corner. Dusty is enjoying this! Head kick from Miss A and she forces a test of strength. Itsuki uses her speed to get a roll-up, but gets caught with a suplex into a bridge for two. Another heavy suplex for two! Handa back in and she gets a Perfect-plex for two. Mami back in, but she gets caught with a double shoulder block and then a double suplex. She makes the tag to Itsuki who hits both women with a top rope dropkick. She tries a sunset flip off the ropes, but can’t get her over so Mami helps with a clothesline from the top and that gets two. Cool! Miss A blocks a charge in the corner and hits a clothesline for two as Itsuki gets her foot on the ropes. Miss A looks for another suplex, but Itsuki catches her with a roll into a pin for the three count at 6:48.

Winners: Itsuki Yamazaki and Mami Kitamura via pin at 6:48
-I was curious how this crowd would react and thankfully they were into this one. This was pretty sweet and credit to this women for going out there and winning the crowd over. I enjoyed this! ***1/2

”Nature Boy” Buddy Landell vs. Dustin Rhodes

-We last saw Dustin teaming with his dad only a month or so ago at the Royal Rumble. Now he gets his first WCW PPV Match and it’s against The Nature Boy. I am sure that wasn’t by accident. Buddy is having fun with Dusty being on commentary and immediately talks trash and then slaps Dustin in the face. Dustin responds with a backdrop and a dropkick that kind of makes contact. Dusty with go advice of commentary, “don’t do anything you can’t do.” Why this man shaped the future of WWE in NXT. Dustin drops elbow in the corner and gets a hiptoss followed by a clothesline for two. Dustin hooks an arm-bar, but gets caught with a right hand. Landell gets a slam and heads up to the top. He yells at the fans, which lets Dustin slam him off like some other Nature Boy out there. I guess if you squint and watch a worn out VHS copy this could look like Dusty vs. Ric! Dustin misses a charge in the corner rand hits the post. Buddy lays in the boots to the rookie and fires off a heavy chop. Buddy goes to an arm-bar as Dustin took a weird flat back bump without much happening to him and it seemed to confuse Ross as well. Landell rakes the eyes and fish hooks the mouth. Slam gets a two count as this one has run out of steam and gone a bit too long. Dustin slips off a whip and it looks awkward. He does reverse a sleeper, but Buddy runs him into the corner. He charges, but Dustin gets a boot up and then lands a clothesline. Another one sends Landell to the floor. Back in the ring Dustin gets a slam and then a bulldog for the pin at 6:33.

Winner: Dustin Rhodes via pin at 6:33
-It was interesting having Dusty on commentary as he was kind of subdued and quiet as I assume he was both beaming with pride and watching with a critical eye. Not a good match or anything, but the fans were into Dustin and he had to start somewhere in his WCW run. *

-Missy Hyatt is backstage and is heading into the dressing room to get an interview. The deal is she is the first female to go in the men’s dressing room for an interview, but she runs into Stan Hansen and he chases her out.

The Royal Family (Jack Victory and Rip Morgan) vs. The Young Pistols (Tracy Smothers and Steve Armstrong)

-Young Pistols just keep changing their names as they were once The Southern Boys and then The Wild Eyes Southern Boys. Royal Family stall and then attack as The Pistols wait on them. Double Clotheslines and Armstrong gets tossed to the floor. Smothers avoids a charge in the corner and Armstrong comes off the top with a clothesline on both members of The Family. Double dropkick sends both members of The Family to the floor to regroup. Cool start! The lights go out in the building and we get a spotlight on the ring. That happened at WrestleMania XXIV. Kind of a cool visual. Morgan sends Smothers shoulder first into the corner and hooks a side headlock. Morgan goes to the hair to maintain and it seems like Morgan and Smothers are talking about what to do with the light situation. Perhaps they are stalling a big to see if it gets fixed. Smothers escapes and gets a monkey flip. Both Pistols in and dropkicks all around. Dusty mentions Steve has a brother serving over seas. If you don’t know who it is, then your ass better call somebody. Victory and Steve have a go and Steve gets an arm-drag that has Jack complaining about a hair pull. Victory gets a running shoulder. Armstrong back to the headlock and ends up getting run down with another shoulder. Smothers in and he works the arm and takes Victory down with an armbar. Armstrong back in and he goes splat as he misses a crossbody. Morgan in and he starts stomping away, but then tags back out. Not much happens, so Morgan is back in and gets a two count off a back elbow. Back to Morgan who rubs Steve’s face on the mat. Victory runs into a boot in the corner and the race is on to see who makes the tag. Victory gets their first, but the not so hot tag is made to Smothers. He runs wild with right hands and elbows. Morgan gets a knee to the back from the apron and Victory clotheslines him to the floor. Morgan runs Smothers back first into the post and clubs him back into the ring. Victory fires off right hands and elbows. Tag back to Morgan who hooks a bear hug and the match really doesn’t need that at this point. Smothers breaks, but gets caught with a spinebuster for two. Double Belly to Back Suplex! Back to the bear hug. Blah! Morgan back in and he whips Smothers into a clothesline for two as Armstrong makes the save. The Royal Family for a double dropkick and Armstrong breaks it with a dropkick and Smothers falls on top for the pin on Morgan at 12:04.

Winners: The Young Pistols via pin at 12:04
-This was dull, boring, whatever other term you want to use. The finish was kind of out of nowhere as well. Would have been better trimming some time off. *

-Tony Schiavone is with Diamond Dallas Page, who is the manager of The Free Birds. He has the gift of gab, but funny seeing him at the start of his career here knowing what he would eventually become. Teddy Long gets in his face and calls out the rumor that Doom is splitting.

No DQ Match: Terry Taylor (w/ Alexandra York) vs. The Z-Man

-They have had a few matches with no real winner, so this is why there is no DQ in this one. Taylor stalls to start as Dusty mentions York has a lot of data in her computer as he looked at it earlier. That’s sounds dirty for some reason and kind of weird knowing she ended up as his daughter-in-law. Z-Man gets a side headlock and works that for a bit including getting a couple two counts. Jim Ross goes on his special service announcement about today’s WCW athlete having a college degree. Taylor bails to the floor to check the computer with York. If I showed my 7 year-old son the computer she is holding, he would laugh and think it’s a toy. I’m old! Back in the ring Z-Man gets a backdrop and then back to the headlock for another two count. Taylor gets a head-butt and sends Z-Man chest first into the corner. He follows with a belly to back suplex as we see Nikita Koloff in the crowd. Taylor takes things to the floor and uses a cable to choke. Back in the ring Taylor gets a backbreaker for two, but Z-Man gets his foot on the ropes. Z-Man tries a sunset flip and after some fighting is able to get the move for two, but Taylor runs him down with a clothesline and goes to a chinlock. This crowd is dying with these last few matches! Dustin was flopping around like a new born deer, but at least the crowd reacted to him. Finally a bit of action as Z-Man clotheslines Taylor to the floor. They start brawling on the floor which is nice to see since this is built as a No DQ match. Give me some kind of violence to play of the stipulation. Back in the ring Taylor gets a clothesline out of the corner for two. Z-Man with a neckbreaker as he starts a comeback. Superkick gets two as Taylor just gets his foot on the bottom rope. Powerslam from Zenk for two! Z-Man off the top with a crossbody, but York has the ref. That got the crowd into it. Taylor gets a roll-up with the tights and gets the pin at 11:00.

Winner: Terry Taylor via pin at 11:00
-Another dull match but the work was solid and the crowd started getting into it by the end. **1/2

-Z-Man punches Taylor after the match, showing he is a sore loser. You think Josh Allen punched Patrick Mahomes after the AFC Championship Game because of a referee mistake? Probably should have actually!

-Paul E. Dangerously comes out dressed as a Matador with a sombrero. Dusty: “A bull would run from this man.” He is here for a special edition of The Danger Zone and he is working undercover for immigration and all the illegal aliens that came across the border are under arrest. Well, that is certainly topical in this day and age. Paul brings out El Gigante and mocks him, which is pretty dumb. He insults Gigante’s intelligence and throws his hat at him. Again, not smart! Gigante gets a slam and really, Paul deserved that one. The crowd enjoyed this!

-Tony is with The Great Muta and Hiro Matsuda to plug the WCW/NJPW show coming up in The Egg Dome! 



Big Van Vader vs. Stan Hansen

-Ross notes this is the rematch the World has been waiting on, but doesn’t tell us what happened in the previous match in Japan. Hansen jumps Vader before the bell and they start on the ramp. Heavy clothesline from Hansen and then he dumps Vader back into the ring. He sends Vader into the corner and lands a chop. Vader back with a HEAVY clothesline to the head and just unloads with right hands. Tobacco is dripping out of Hansen’s mouth in a gross moment. Vader gets a splash in the corner and drops an elbow for two. Vader losing the full mask was a good call as he just looks like a generic big man here. Vader sends Hansen to the floor and comes off the apron to maul him. Hansen fights back and Vader decides to hit him even harder. Cool! Straight right hands from Vader in the corner, but he misses a splash. Hansen connects with belly to back suplex for two. Hansen drops an elbow to the back of the head and another to get a two count. They end up on the floor and they start hitting each other with chairs in impressive fashion as Ross and Dusty avoid the carnage. Forearm from Hansen sends Vader back to the floor and they just beat on each other out there. Vader slams Hansen gut first on the railing and drops an elbow. Hansen pulls Vader back to the floor and sends him into the wooden stairs. Double knees from Hansen. Back in the ring they trade blows from their knees and the ref gets knocked back. Hansen throws him to the floor and the ref calls for the bell at 6:20 as he disqualifies both men.

Double DQ at 6:20
-Fun match, but would have been great with more time and them letting both men off their leash. You had to know neither man was doing the job here. ***

-Vader doesn’t care and comes off the top with a clothesline. He misses a splash and Hansen knocks him down with a double. He grabs his bull rope and chokes Vader as the bell keeps ringing. Vader fights out and uses the rope to drag Hanse up the ramp. They continue to brawl to the back as we go to the replay.

-SuperBrawl commercial! May 19! Make your own Kane joke!

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship: Lex Luger (c) vs. Dan Spivey

-Again, Lex’s theme SLAPS! He should have kept that in his later WCW runs. Ross mentions the winner of this will get presented with a new version of The US Title and it’s apparently worth $20,000. Luger starts off with a backdrop and then a series of shoulder tackles followed by a clothesline. Spivey tries an atomic drop, but Luger blocks and gets a belly to back suplex for two. Ross works in the football backgrounds of both men and Dusty kind of blows of it by noting they are in a different league now. Luger fires off some right hands and finally drops Spivey with the fourth one. Luger with a hip-toss and goes for a cross-body, but Spivey ducks and Lugers took a cool bump on the ropes and tumbles over into the second ring. Spivey brings him back to their ring with a suplex. TOMBSTONE from Spivey! I assume that was a wink wink moment knowing his former is in the WWF now. Neckbreaker from Spivey gets two, so he hooks a reverse chinlock. He lets go and gets a neck snap. DDT from Spivey gets two! He chokes Luger on the middle rope and then gets a running clothesline in the corner for two. Spivey misses a charge in the corner and Lex gets a roll-up for two, but can’t follow up. Spivey slugs him down and fires off kicks to the back. Luger blocks a suplex and gets one of his own to pop the crowd. Spivey is still up first and gets a slam. He heads up top and hits a elbow drop for two! SWEET! Spivey is going all out knowing this is the biggest match of his career. Neckbreaker gets two! Spivey continues to work the neck with a head scissors. He releases and gets a big boot to send Luger down again. Standard Piledriver gets another two count. The crowd is trying to get Lex back into this one as he staggers around the ring. He eats some punches in the corner, but it fires him up and he starts firing off right hands. Spivey gives no shits as he cuts Luger off and gets a belly to belly suplex for two. That’s right SCREW YOU TOO SHANE DOUGLAS! Dangerous Dan is pulling out all the finishers tonight. Spivey goes back to the beck with a reverse chinlock and the crowd gets Luger back to his feet again. Dan cuts that off with a JAPANESE ARMDRAG! Dan charges and gets dropped on the top rope. Now Lex tries his comeback again and this one is more successful. Luger comes off the middle ropes with a clothesline and hits a SWANK power slam! The crowd is into this one now! Spivey dumps Luger to the floor to create space and lands a left hand as Luger tried a sunset flip. DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE to leave both men down! They start trading bombs from a kneeling position. To their feet and Lex is winning the exchange, but they end up colliding into each other. Luger heads up top, but Spivey tries to slam him down. Lex gets a small package on the way down and gets the three count at 12:55.

Winner and Still WCW United States Heavyweight Champion: Lex Luger via pin at 12:55
-This was fantastic as Spivey was pulling out all the stops and Luger just rolled with him and played a great underdog fighting from underneath. That finish was pretty slick as well. ****

-Tony is with Koloff and he presents* Lex with the new WCW United States Heavyweight. 

* Presents meaning BLASTING LUGER IN THE HEAD WITH THE BELT! 

-Koloff is pissed and he wants to be United States because Luger stole it from him four years ago and he is going to move on and get The World Title. Koloff looked like a MONSTER here.

WCW World Tag Team Titles: Doom (c) vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (w/ DDP)

-BAD STREET! As I keep mentioning, I have seen so many Bird matches, but at least BAD STREET SLAPS! DDP brings out Big Daddy Dink, who is going to be another manager for The Birds. Basically, their road manager. The fun story here is that The Birds already lost the Tag Titles (they have yet to win) to The Steiners on a tapped show a few weeks ago, that is still a month away from airing. It’s kind of fun as if you go to the wikipedia page for the Tag Titles it has the Birds listed as having a -6 day Title Reign. Oh, sorry, SPOILERS! Loud “Freebirds” suck chant! Jim Ross immediately mentions Simmons football background at Florida State. Again, Dusty just plays that off. Simmons pounds away on Simmons and gets caught with a bear hug into a spinebuster for two. Ron gets caught with a left hand charging in the corner and a bulldog gets two for Hayes. Ron back with a power slam and he catches Garvin coming off the top with a power slam for two as well. Not sure if that was legal as I don’t think Garvin tagged in. Hayes back in and now he makes the tag to Garvin and he wants Butch Reed. Garvin telegraphs a hiptoss and Reed slugs him down. Sunset flip from Garvin gets two. Hayes wants some but gets a blind tag before getting dropped with a Gorilla Press. Reed tries for one on Garvin, but Hayes punches him with a left hand. Reed shakes that off and gets a backbreaker. Double arm suplex gets two! Tag to Simmons and we get a double back elbow. Ron drops a leg on the back and fires off a series of head butts to the back. He suckers Hayes into the ring and dumps Garvin to the floor. Reed gets a slam out there. Back in the ring Simmons pounds away with right hands as we hear about him being a nose tackle again. Hey, Butch Reed played for the Chiefs and since I am writing this show a few days before the Super Bowl, go Eagles! I hate you Eagles, but America needs you. Simmons with a spinebuster, but Hayes breaks up the pin. Powerslam and again, Hayes makes the save. Doom try to use an “international object” and it backfires as Reed decks Simmons by accident. Dink pushes Garvin off the ropes and he falls on Simmons for the pin at 6:55.

Winners and New WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Fabulous Freebirds via pin at 6:55

-Standard tag match with a pretty big upset that shocked the crowd. As mentioned, The Birds were transitional Champions and the real story is what happens next. **

-Butch Reed attacks Ron Simmons after the match with Teddy Long instructing him. Really strong beatdown as the crowd boos Reed out of the building. Sucks as Doom was hitting their own when they lost the masks. Simmons of course would go on to better things.

-We see video of The Horsemen breaking the shoulder of Brian Pillman.

-Dusty doesn’t understand the Horsemen choosing Larry as Arn’s replacement.

WarGames: The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Barry Windham, and Sid Vicious) and Larry Zbyszko vs. Sting, Brian Pillman, and The Steiner Brothers

-As mentioned, Arn is injured and out, so Larry is taking his place. Sting is rocking his Patriotic look in a nice call back to the night he beat Flair for the World Title. Pullman has his shoulder tapped it and is dumb as he sprints into the cage to start the match which seems to be a surprise to his teammates. I am sure he will be fine! Pillman brings the awesome early as he hangs from the roof off the cage and catches Barry with a kick and then a head scissors. Pillman does a head fake off the ropes and hits a dropkick from the middle ropes with his head scraping the roof. Again, I am sure he will be fine and that won’t come back to haunt him. Pillman lands a low blow which is cool to see as this is WARGAMES! Pillman runs Barry into the cage and then we get some cheese grater action. Windham is bleeding and we are less than 2 minutes into this one. More violence as Pillman bites Windham on his bloody forehead. More biting in the corner! Pillman goes to ground and pound as he is just beating the piss out of Barry. Another trip the cage wall! Pillman with a top rope clothesline and then a jawbreaker. Windham gets tossed from one ring to the other and just bounces off the ropes. Pillman is smart enough to get Barry to the ring near his team’s entrance as we have 1 minute left in this period. Barry tries a piledriver, but gets backdropped. Pillman off the top with a right hand as we get the coin toss. Shocker, but The Horsemen win the toss and Flair’s in the match. Flair and Pillman trade chops in the corner to pop the crowd. The numbers finally catch up to Pillman as he gets run shoulder first into the cage. Barry’s face is covered in blood as he runs Pillman into the cage again. The Horsemen pitch Pillman to their ring which is again smart as they know someone will be entering soon. The Horsemen work on the shoulder as Sting is next in the match. He is all over Flair and just unloads with kicks and punches in the corner. Double clothesline knocks down both Horsemen as the place explodes. Cool! Pillman and Flair pair off in one right while Sting plants Barry on his face. Flair gets one as well and he is crawling on his knees to get away from Sting. Pillman gets crotched on the top rope! Flair tries to send Sting into the cage and when that’ doesn’t work he fires off chops. Sting just stares at him and walks him to the corner. STINGER SPLASH! Larry is in next and Sting punches him in the face. STING LEAPS FROM ONE RING TO THE OTHER and hits Larry with a shoulder tackle. Pillman has a figure-four on Windham as this is just awesome carnage! The numbers catch up to Sting and Pillman again, or at least Pillman as The Horsemen have been focusing their advantage on him while Larry keeps Sting busy. That’s brilliant! Rick Steiner is in as Flair and Windham go over to wait for him. They try to maul him, but STEINER-LINE! Flair gets one as well! Rick pounds away on Flair in the corner as our heroes are all back on their feet. Belly to belly suplex for Flair and then Rick sends him into the cage. Sting gets caught with a reverse atomic drop. More cheese grater action for Flair and he is bleeding. I’m shocked it took this long! Rick and Barry just keep punching each other in the face as Sid is about to enter and wreck shop! The crowd knows our heroes are screwed! Rick gets sent into the cage and then Flair with a straight kick to the balls. Ouch! PIllman saves and rams Flair off the cage. Sid with a clothesline on Sting. The crowd is enjoying every second of this chaos and I don’t blame them. Larry saves Flair as Rick was rubbing his face on the cage. Flair Flop as Sting sends him into the cage again. Scott Steiner is the final man in and The Match Beyond begins. Surrender or Submission! Scott with a double clothesline on Barry and Flair. Butterfly powerbomb on Larry. The camera gets too close to Sid and Rick as they talk about the next spot which kind of sucks. Scott off the top with a clothesline on Sid. Sting hooks The Scorpion on Flair as they all know they need a submission now. Sid sends Pillman shoulder first into the top buckle as Arn yells to rip the tape off. I mean, the story here is simple yet effective. Man, Sid with his audible yelling of spots is kind of a bummer. Our heroes get Quad Figure Fours as the crowd explodes! Awesome! Flair goes to the eyes on Rick to save Barry. Dusty: “There is no way to get out, unless you get out.” Having Dream on commentary makes me happy. Sting with a Gorilla Press on Flair and he makes sure to press him into the roof a few times. Sweet! Sid with a clothesline on Rick as Sting unloads with right hands on a grounded Flair. Sid gets knocked off his feet by Rick as these eight are just trying to survive at this point. The constant screams only add to the match as it feels like a brutal battle. The Horsemen keep trying to double team Pillman, but he has survived so far. Pillman works Flair over in the corner and bites his blood forehead as well. DDT on Windham from Scott, but it is kind of sloppy though it makes sense as fatigue is setting in. These men shouldn’t be fresh as a daisy. SID ALLEY OOPS PILLMAN INTO THE ROOF OF THE CAGE AND THEN NEARLY BREAKS PILLMANS NECK WITH A POWERBOMB AS POOR BRIANS FEET HIT THE ROOF. DAMN! Sid picks up Pillman and gives him another powerbomb because why not I guess. El Gigante is out and rips the door open and the ref stops the match at 22:09.

Winners: The Four Horsemen and Larry Zbyszko via ref stoppage at 22:09
-Just total carnage and awesomeness. I loved the story of The Horsemen targeting Pillman throughout the match and always trying to get the numbers on him even if it meant someone else had to take a beating from Sting or one of The Steiners. The ending is one of the most infamous of all time, and adds to the match, but even if it was just a normal powerbomb, this match still ruled. *****

-Nick Patrick explains his decision to stop the match to Ross and Dusty. He notes Brian was unconscious and he doesn’t regret his decision to stop the match.

-Thanks for reading!

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

The Main Event and US Title Match make this an easy thumbs up show and there is enough in the undercard to prop it up even more. Definitely worth the watch and a good start for WCW's first, real PPV.