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World Championship Wrestling - Taking the World by Storm


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<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Power Hour</strong><p><strong> Taped Wednesday, Week 3, March 1991 (Airs Friday, Week 3, March 1991)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> started off the show by reminding the audience, but more importantly </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em>, that </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes</strong></em><em> had stripped </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> of the WCW Television Championship and that at Superbrawl, when </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Tom Zenk</strong></em><em> would meet in a 2 out of 3 Falls match to finally determine an undisputed Television Champion, </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em> would be banned from the building.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”You really think that’s funny don’t you, Jim? Since January, I have screamed to the world that my client, Bobby Eaton, is suffering from workplace harassment. I have called out WCW management and their collusion on preventing Bobby Eaton from reaching the top. Bobby Eaton will be the bigger man here and tomorrow night he will hand that belt, which is rightfully his might I add, to Dusty Rhodes. Meanwhile, I will be getting in touch with my lawyers. Legal action will be pursued!” </strong></em><em>(A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Big Cat</strong></em><em> (D-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> was in the process of being interviewed by </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> when </em><em><strong>Alexandra York</strong></em><em> approached both men. She indicated that she had spent the last month looking to expand her </em><em><strong>York Foundation</strong></em><em>. She informed </em><em><strong>Dustin</strong></em><em> that she had been recording statistical data and according to her analytics, </em><em><strong>Rhodes</strong></em><em> had only won three of his last nine matches. She did offer him a compliment and said he has talent, but with her brains, advice, and financial backing, he could be one of the best in the world. She then cited </em><em><strong>Steve Austin</strong></em><em> as an example of her work and then parted ways with </em><em><strong>Dustin</strong></em><em> before telling him that she would give him some time to think about her proposal. (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em> spent a few minutes advertising tomorrow night’s WCW Saturday Night program, calling the WCW Tag Team Championship match between champions </em><em><strong>Doom</strong></em><em> and challengers </em><em><strong>The Dynamite Dream Team</strong></em><em> a main event that fans would not want to miss. (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Tom Zenk</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Michael Hayes</strong></em><em> which obviously greatly upset </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em> (C-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> announced that </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> will meet </em><em><strong>Big Van Vader</strong></em><em> face to face on Saturday Night.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”Last week Vader said that if Lex wanted the WCW World Title, better say it to Vader’s face. Looks like Luger will do just that. What’s going to happen when these two big men meet face to face for the first time? Only one way to find out! See you tomorrow night for WCW Saturday Night only on TBS!”</strong></em><em> (A)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Power Hour Grade: B-</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ---</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Saturday Night</strong><p><strong> Taped Wednesday, Week 3, March 1991 (Airs Saturday, Week 3, March 1991)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Magnum TA</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>The show kicked off with </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes</strong></em><em> present on stage. There were some talking points that we wanted him to get across during this segment, such as promoting tonight’s main event between </em><em><strong>Doom</strong></em><em> and The </em><em><strong>Dynamite Dream Team</strong></em><em>, promoting Superbrawl, and also just getting the fans worked up in general with his mic work.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> We scored another homerun by putting </em><em><strong>Dusty</strong></em><em> in the opening segment, but with the talking points out of the way, we needed to focus on one of our key storylines, the WCW Television Championship.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”I was told that Bobby Eaton was a man of his word and that he would be out here to hand in that WCW Television Championship. But I know he has that slimeball in his ear. Bobby Eaton is a very talented professional wressla so I hope he’s gonna to make the right choice tonight.”</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> eventually appeared on stage with </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em> not too far behind him. Simmering tension was evident between </em><em><strong>Eaton</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Dusty</strong></em><em>, but </em><em><strong>Eaton</strong></em><em> eventually handed the WCW Television Championship over to </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes</strong></em><em>. </em><em><strong>Dusty</strong></em><em>, who was looking to further antagonize </em><em><strong>Dangerously</strong></em><em> informed him that other executives in management had given </em><em><strong>Dusty</strong></em><em> the okay to temporarily suspend </em><em><strong>Dangerously’s</strong></em><em> managerial license just for the night of Superbrawl and that he will not be allowed in the building. </em><em><strong>Paul</strong></em><em> was incensed but the crowd ate all of it up. (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Dutch Mantell </strong></em><em>(D+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> We went to our interview area where </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt</strong></em><em> was with </em><em><strong>Brian Pillman</strong></em><em>. She wanted an update on </em><em><strong>The Calgary Kid’s</strong></em><em> condition after what </em><em><strong>Larry Zbyszko</strong></em><em> did to him on last week’s Saturday Night. </em><em><strong>Brian Pillman</strong></em><em> stated that nothing was broken but </em><em><strong>That Calgary Kid</strong></em><em> was on crutches and would be out of action for some time. He then addressed </em><em><strong>Larry Zbyszko</strong></em><em>.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”You talk about being experienced, being a vet. You have all that knowledge, all those things you can teach to us newcomers and you do that instead? Calgary may not be able to fight right now, but I can. Superbrawl, try some of that stuff on me.”</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> A lot of us in creative, myself included, see a lot of potential in </em><em><strong>Brian Pillman</strong></em><em>. Much like </em><em><strong>Austin</strong></em><em>, he gets along well with a lot of the boys, he connects with the audience, has a good look, and is pretty decent in the ring. We’re attempting to get him more comfortable with interviews and camera presence so when/if that time comes, he’ll be ready when we decide to pull the trigger.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> His work was pretty good here. He didn’t stutter or stumble or get lost in what he was saying. He kept it to the point. He painted </em><em><strong>Larry Zbyszko</strong></em><em> as a tenured wrestling vet who used his experience to rough up and take advantage of the rookies. Things seem promising for </em><em><strong>Pillman</strong></em><em>. (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>The Steiner Brothers</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Al Green</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Moondog Rex</strong></em><em> ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt</strong></em><em> was preparing to interview </em><em><strong>The Steiner Brothers</strong></em><em> on their recent winning streak and their goal at earning another shot at the WCW World Tag Team Titles when a fairly familiar voice could be picked up on </em><em><strong>Missy’s</strong></em><em> microphone.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Jim Cornette</strong></em><em> then appeared on camera, standing opposite of </em><em><strong>Scott</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Rick Steiner</strong></em><em>. Many longtime WCW fans would recognize him as a manager of </em><em><strong>The Midnight Express</strong></em><em> (which coincidentally included </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em>) and if not that, they at least knew him as color commentator for Saturday Night during the </em><em><strong>Jim Crockett Promotion</strong></em><em>s era.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”Steiners are the best team this, Steiners are the best team that. Well, I know tag teams and you two aren’t it. I’ve managed the best tag teams in professional wrestling. Next week, I’ll be introducing a new team to WCW. I’m going to shut all of these morons up and also send a statement to all of WCW when they make an example out of you, Steiner Brothers!”</strong></em><em> (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> In the backstage area, </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> was with </em><em><strong>Alexandra York</strong></em><em>. </em><em><strong>Tony</strong></em><em> asked her whether or not she had received an answer from </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em>. </em><em><strong>York</strong></em><em> informed </em><em><strong>Schiavone</strong></em><em> that it was none of his business, but then revealed that she thought 24 hours would be enough time for </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> to realize this was an opportunity of a lifetime. She then declared that she would be giving </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> a full seven days to consider her offer. She finalized by telling </em><em><strong>Tony</strong></em><em> that if she were </em><em><strong>Dustin</strong></em><em>, she would not skip out on such a lucrative offer. ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Paul Orndorff</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Buddy Landel</strong></em><em> (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> A video package aired focusing on the rivalry between </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em>. The beginning of the highlight video started with the first ever Clash of the Champions event where </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em> went to a 45-minute draw. The next point of focus was Great American Bash ‘90 where </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em> to win his first world championship. The video then informed viewers that </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> would hold onto that championship until the introduction of the WCW World Championship in January. That, of course, led to World Championship Warfare highlight that primarily focused on </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> handcuffing </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em>. Lastly, the video showed </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> challenging </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> at Superbrawl. The video package advertised the match as being the grand finale in one of wrestling’s greatest rivalries. (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW World Tag Team Champions </em><em><strong>Doom</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>The Dynamite Dream Team</strong></em><em> to retain the WCW World Tag Team Championships</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> We knew we wanted this match to carryover to Superbrawl, so it was made very clear that we couldn’t have a decisive finish tonight. In many ways, this match was almost an afterthought because it took a backseat to a couple of things we were looking to accomplish around this match.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> First off, as mentioned, this tag match was an attraction for Superbrawl. </em><em><strong>Eric</strong></em><em> was just very firm in his belief that Saturday Night needed to be built around marquee matches, so he insisted that we do the match first on television. We lobbied to do it the other way around, the first match on Pay Per View and the rematch on an episode of Saturday Night, but he had final say.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> In the grand scheme of things, this mostly worked in our favor because a few people in our meetings were beginning to back </em><em><strong>Ron Simmons</strong></em><em> and his work on the microphone a couple of weeks prior showed that </em><em><strong>Simmons</strong></em><em> had some potential.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> So, without getting too far ahead of ourselves, we saw our opportunities. 1) Let’s give the fans the real </em><em><strong>Doom</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>DDT</strong></em><em> match at Superbrawl. 2) Let’s put the </em><em><strong>Ron Simmons</strong></em><em> project in motion.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Doom</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Dynamite Dream Team</strong></em><em> worked a very stiff, roughhouse tag match, but the fans were definitely into it. Before they could give too much away, </em><em><strong>Teddy Long</strong></em><em> got involved, grabbing at the ankle of </em><em><strong>Terry Gordy</strong></em><em>, who was the legal man. The action from </em><em><strong>Teddy Long</strong></em><em> caught </em><em><strong>Gordy’s</strong></em><em> attention and it was effective enough that it allowed </em><em><strong>Butch Reed</strong></em><em> to pin the distracted </em><em><strong>Gordy</strong></em><em> after a double underhook suplex. (B-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Once </em><em><strong>Ron Simmons</strong></em><em> had realized what happened, he got into an argument with </em><em><strong>Teddy Long</strong></em><em>. The two went back and forth with </em><em><strong>Butch Reed</strong></em><em> trying to get cooler heads to prevail, but </em><em><strong>Simmons</strong></em><em> could be heard saying “We don’t win that way!” ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW World Champion </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Ranger Ross</strong></em><em> in a very quick match (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> paced around in the ring, calling himself the baddest man in WCW. </em><em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Magnum TA</strong></em><em> speculated if </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> had changed his mind but then reconsidered when </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> started walking down the entrance way. With no hesitation, </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> got in the ring and stepped up to the WCW World Champion, the two staring eye to eye.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> With no microphone in the ring and neither </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt </strong></em><em>or </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> in the immediate area, no one could really pick up on what the two were saying. Then things were spelled out when </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> slapped his hand on </em><em><strong>Vader’s</strong></em><em> WCW World Championship. In response, </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> removed the belt from his shoulder and dropped it to the ring canvas. The crowd was beginning to grow a bit anxious, not entirely sure what was about to unfold.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> In the ring, </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> continued to exchange words, with Vader appearing to get a bit angrier after </em><em><strong>Lex’s</strong></em><em> touching of the World Championship. Then, without a moment of warning, </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> shoved </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> responded by hitting the World Champion with a series of right hands. </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> was slow to respond and all he could do was cover up, his arms absorbing the strikes. </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> didn’t let up, though, and finalized things by taking </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> over the top rope and out of the ring with a clothesline. In response, the crowd erupted in cheers for </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> who was daring </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> to get back in the ring.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> was fired up and as a result, the audience’s fervor was palpable. All </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> could do was grab the WCW World Championship and retreat up the entrance walkway while </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> posed and celebrated with the audience. (A)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Saturday Night Grade: B</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Main Event</strong><p><strong> Taped Thursday, Week 3, March 1991 (Airs Sunday, Week 4, March 1991)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>A recap of what took place when </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> met face to face for the first time on WCW Saturday Night aired. (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Wild Pegasus</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker</strong></em><em> (D)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> A recap of </em><em><strong>Alexandra York</strong></em><em> offering </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> a position in the </em><em><strong>Alexandra York Foundation</strong></em><em> aired ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Terry Taylor</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Motor City Madman</strong></em><em> (D+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> A recap of WCW Saturday Night’s main event between </em><em><strong>Doom</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>The Dynamite Dream Team</strong></em><em> aired (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Barry Windham</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Ranger Ross</strong></em><em> (C-)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Main Event Grade: C+</strong></p></div></blockquote>
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<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Power Hour</strong><p><strong> Taped Wednesday, Week 4, March 1991 (Airs Friday, Week 4, March 1991)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously</strong></p><p> </p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em> started the show by going on a rant about the tyranny of </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes </strong></em><em> and the rest of management. He claimed </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> shouldn’t have had to turn over the WCW Television Championship but that he did it because he wanted to take the higher ground.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”Bobby Eaton is a pariah! He’s being unfairly treated by WCW’s management...or lack thereof. They want to temporarily suspend my license? They want to ban me from Superbrawl? Fine! When this is all over and done with, I just hope WCW is ready to hear from my lawyers, but most importantly, offer an apology to Bobby Eaton!”</strong></em><em> (B+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Steve Austin</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Brad Armstrong</strong></em><em> (C-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> A very brief interview segment occurred after the match with </em><em><strong>Austin</strong></em><em> telling </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> that if Dustin was a smart man, he’d accept the offer. The interview didn’t go over as well because </em><em><strong>Austin</strong></em><em> was still catching his breath from the match and so did a poor job of going over the talking points. (C-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Another recap of </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> sending </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> out of the ring on Saturday Night aired (B)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Ricky Morton</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Rip Rogers</strong></em><em> (D+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Jim Cornette</strong></em><em> informed </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt</strong></em><em> that his mystery team had prior commitments this week and would not be at Saturday Night. He then posited that this would give the </em><em><strong>Steiners</strong></em><em> an extra week to prepare to face one of the best tag teams in the making. (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>The Steiner Brothers</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Mark Kyle</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Lethal Larry</strong></em><em> (D+)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Power Hour Grade: C+</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ---</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Saturday Night</strong><p><strong> Taped Wednesday, Week 4, March 1991 (Airs Saturday, Week 4, March 1991)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Magnum TA</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Buddy Landel</strong></em><em> to open the show. ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes</strong></em><em> joined </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt</strong></em><em> on stage and announced that it was signed, sealed, and delivered. </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> would face </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> at Superbrawl for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. (B+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> A training montage aired showing not only how </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> was preparing for the Superbrawl match against </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em>, but how serious he was taking this match. The video showed Flair and the rest of </em><em><strong>The Horsemen</strong></em><em> doing different workouts in a gym, he and </em><em><strong>Arn Anderson</strong></em><em> doing different practice drills in a training wrestling ring, and </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em> looking at tapes of his past encounters with </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em>, jotting down notes. (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Rick Rude</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>The Italian Stallion</strong></em><em> ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> conducted an interview with </em><em><strong>Ron Simmons</strong></em><em> of </em><em><strong>Doom</strong></em><em>. The purpose of this was not only to offer a follow up to what happened on Saturday Night, but during our creative meeting, we decided we wanted to see what </em><em><strong>Ron Simmons</strong></em><em> could do sans </em><em><strong>Butch Reed</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Teddy Long</strong></em><em>.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”My business with Teddy Long is my business with Teddy Long, but I can tell you right now Doom is fine. I didn’t agree with how Teddy Long handled things last week but we talked about it off camera like men.</strong></em></p><p><em><strong> </strong></em></p><p><em><strong> Butch Reed and myself, we’re World Tag Team Champions, that means we’re the best. Not one of the best, THE best. Dynamite Dream Team, we don’t need to cheat to prove that. At Superbrawl, we’re demanding a rematch so we can leave no doubt that we’re the best in professional wrestling.”</strong></em><em> (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Tom Zenk </strong></em><em>defeated </em><em><strong>Big Cat</strong></em><em> (D)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> We went with a small time killer where </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt</strong></em><em> spoke to </em><em><strong>Arn Anderson</strong></em><em>, </em><em><strong>Sid Vicious</strong></em><em>, and </em><em><strong>Barry Windham</strong></em><em>. There weren’t any real plans here, just something to get the three of them on camera while also filling some segment time. </em><em><strong>Arn Anderson</strong></em><em> did most of the talking, mainly just stating that </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> was in the best shape of his life. ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Alexandra York</strong></em><em> was with </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em>. She requested that </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> join them stage to which he did. She indicated to </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> that </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> had contacted her last night and told her that he was interested in joining </em><em><strong>The York Foundation</strong></em><em>. With that, </em><em><strong>Alexandra York</strong></em><em> handed him contractual paperwork that she had her legal team draft for her and that all </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> needed to do was sign on the line.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> looked over the paperwork and brought some energy to the crowd when he ripped it up and dropped the shredded contract to the floor. </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> smirked and he indicated that he would never sell his soul to </em><em><strong>The Foundation</strong></em><em> before walking away from a stunned </em><em><strong>York</strong></em><em>. ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Larry Zbyszko</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Terry Taylor</strong></em><em> (B-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Paul Orndorff</strong></em><em> was with </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt</strong></em><em> for an interview segment. </em><em><strong>Orndorff</strong></em><em> told </em><em><strong>Missy</strong></em><em> that he wasn’t sure what </em><em><strong>Rude’s</strong></em><em> problem was but if he had to guess, it was mostly out of jealousy.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”But jealousy causes us to do a lot of stupid things, Missy. Rude got involved in my Television Title match and he paid for it. But he cost me my chance at winning that belt and he’s going to pay for that too. A posedown challenge? I don’t know what that is, but if that’s what I have to do to get Rick Rude in that ring, you can certainly bet I’ll be there at Superbrawl.”</strong></em><em> (B-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Ricky Morton</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em> was not present at ringside for this match because both he and </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> wanted to show that </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> could handle business without </em><em><strong>Dangerously’s</strong></em><em> assistance. This was our way of adding some extra heat to </em><em><strong>Eaton’s</strong></em><em> match with </em><em><strong>Tom Zenk</strong></em><em> at Superbrawl.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Morton</strong></em><em> has always been a good hand that could be relied on in this sort of position on Saturday Night and this was no exception. We loved using </em><em><strong>Ricky Morton</strong></em><em> but felt he wasn’t as strong as an asset without </em><em><strong>Robert Gibson</strong></em><em>. We started having him fulfill the role of putting over some of the bigger names on TV because he still very much connects with our audience and is a good performer.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> He and </em><em><strong>Eaton</strong></em><em> did a good job working roughly an eleven minute match that ultimately saw </em><em><strong>Eaton</strong></em><em> pick up the victory with an Alabama Jam. </em><em><strong>Bischoff</strong></em><em> fed some lines to </em><em><strong>Magnum TA</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> wanting them to point out the fact that </em><em><strong>Eaton</strong></em><em> could and did get the job done without </em><em><strong>Dangerously’s</strong></em><em> help. (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Another training montage aired, this time focusing on </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em>. The montage showed him lifting weights with </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em>, sprinting down a beach with </em><em><strong>Paul Orndorff</strong></em><em>, and doing various drills with </em><em><strong>Rick</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Scott Steiner</strong></em><em>. </em><em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Magnum TA</strong></em><em> indicated that both </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> have been working out nonstop for the past month in preparation for Superbrawl. (B+)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Saturday Night Grade: B</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ---</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Main Event</strong><p><strong> Taped Thursday, Week 4, March 1991 (Airs Sunday, Week 1, April 1991)</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> discussed the announcement of </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> versus </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> for Superbrawl while a video package aired that recapped </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes</strong></em><em> officially announcing the match on WCW Saturday Night. (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Ranger Ross</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Rip Rogers</strong></em><em> (D-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Another video aired that showed </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> refusing </em><em><strong>Alexandra York’s</strong></em><em> offer. ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Ricky Morton</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Moondog Rex</strong></em><em> (D+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Kevin Sullivan</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Keith Hart</strong></em><em> (C-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The training videos of both </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> aired to end Main Event. (A)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Main Event Grade: C+</strong></p></div></blockquote>
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<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Power Hour</strong><p><strong> Taped Wednesday, Week 1, April 1991 (Airs Friday, Week 1, April 1991)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em> started the show by going over the </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> program. A video package then aired that showed the first confrontation that </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> had two weeks ago on WCW Saturday Night, and then finalized with </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes</strong></em><em> making the match between the two official at Superbrawl (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Wild Pegasus</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Ranger Ross</strong></em><em> ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Pat Rose</strong></em><em> (D+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> As </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> was playing it up to the crowd on his way back to the locker room, </em><em><strong>Steve Austin</strong></em><em> came out on stage and ambushed him. With </em><em><strong>Dustin</strong></em><em> now on the ground, </em><em><strong>Austin</strong></em><em> began stomping on him until </em><em><strong>Alexandra York</strong></em><em> gave </em><em><strong>Austin</strong></em><em> the nod of approval before </em><em><strong>The York Foundation</strong></em><em> went back to the locker room area. (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>The Dynamite Dream Team</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>The Harris Brothers</strong></em><em> ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> training videos reaired with </em><em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> announcing that WCW’s newest correspondent, </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff</strong></em><em>, had sit down interviews with both </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> and they would air tomorrow night on WCW Saturday Night. (A)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Power Hour Grade: B-</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ---</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Saturday Night</strong><p><strong> Taped Wednesday, Week 1, April 1991 (Airs Saturday, Week 1, April 1991)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Magnum TA</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>The show started with </em><em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> announcing that a match between </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> had been made for tonight’s main event. (B-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff</strong></em><em> made his first on-screen appearance as WCW’s newest interviewer/correspondent. I honestly don’t recall what the discussion was here. I think a few people had pitched the idea of </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff</strong></em><em> being an on-screen personality as early as our first taping in January. </em><em><strong>Bischoff</strong></em><em>, himself, wasn’t particularly for or against the idea but did rule out being the commissioner/boss/office executive/etc. because we all agreed that it needed to be someone the WCW audience was already familiar with, so that fell on </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes</strong></em><em>.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> We wanted to keep </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> off WCW Saturday Night for as long as possible in an attempt to give this Superbrawl match a can’t miss spectacle feel. With </em><em><strong>Dick the Bruiser </strong></em><em>going back to </em><em><strong>Bischoff’s</strong></em><em> time as an AWA personality, we decided it was time to feature him on screen as WCW’s newest personality. This decision killed two birds with one stone: those who felt </em><em><strong>Bischoff</strong></em><em> should be an on-air character had came up with a way to feature him and it also allowed us to keep </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em> out of the ring, off the show, while further adding heat to their program.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”Fans of the WCW, I am at the WCW Production Studio (a non-existent entity that we used to sell the narrative that neither man was at the arena for WCW Saturday Night) with Ric Flair. Ric, we’ve all seen the videos, we know you’re training like never before, but can you tell us about your mindset going into Superbrawl?”</strong></em><em> (Eric Bischoff)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”The partying, the women, the limousine riding, it’s all taking a backseat to Superbrawl. Everything is on the line. The loser has to shake the winner’s hand and admit to the world that the winner is the better man. My pride is more important to me than any championship in pro wrestling. This isn’t just another night in WCW. This isn’t just another wrestling match. This is two of the best wrestlers in WCW, no, in the world, who have been neck and neck from the start.</strong></em></p><p><em><strong> </strong></em></p><p><em><strong> I’ll tell the world now that Sting is the greatest rival I’ve ever had. I beat him and he comes right back and beats me. He’s taken everything I’ve thrown at him...he’s taken everything the Horsemen has thrown at him...and he shows up to fight another day. I respect that. At Superbrawl, we’re going to settle this thing once and for all. There can only be one winner, and I’m working out like never before so that it can be me.” </strong></em><em>(Ric Flair) (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Arn Anderson & Barry Windham</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Ranger Ross</strong></em><em> & </em><em><strong>The Italian Stallion </strong></em><em>(C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Brian Pillman</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Michael Hayes</strong></em><em> (C+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt</strong></em><em> was with </em><em><strong>Larry Zbyszko</strong></em><em> for an interview segment, essentially wanting some talking points ahead of his Superbrawl encounter with </em><em><strong>Brian Pillman</strong></em><em>.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”Pillman, you’ve got real guts, I’ll give you that. I heard you marched your punk butt in Dusty’s office and demanded this match at Superbrawl. You want to get beat in front of the world on Pay Per View? Fine by me, but don’t go crying to management when I put you on crutches like your snot nosed friend Calgary Kid!”</strong></em><em> (B-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The second of </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff’s</strong></em><em> two interviews aired, this time with </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em>. Like the interview with </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em>, </em><em><strong>Bischoff</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> were in “WCW’s Production Studio” and </em><em><strong>Bischoff</strong></em><em> asked </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> for some follow-up comments to what </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> had said.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”It’s a real honor for Ric Flair to call me his greatest rival. I don’t agree with Flair’s tactics. I’m not a fan of The Horsemen’s gang mentality. I’m not going to sugarcoat it, Eric, I don’t like Ric Flair. There will never be a time when Flair and I get along BUT I do respect him. I can’t disregard his accomplishments, he is the greatest wrestler in the world. You know what, though? I think I am too.</strong></em></p><p><em><strong> </strong></em></p><p><em><strong> There’s only one way for me to know, without any doubts, that I am the best though. I have to beat him in that ring one final time. Behind the cheap tricks, the cheating, and the Horsemen interference, Ric Flair is a man of his word and he’s a man who’s proud. If he knows he has an opportunity to get me to look him face to face and tell the great fans of WCW that he’s the better man, he’ll throw all the cheating and tricks to the side. That’s the Flair I want to wrestle. That’s the Flair I have to beat.”</strong></em><em> (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Jim Cornette</strong></em><em> joined </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> to inform him that his mystery team once again had prior commitments and as a result, would have to miss another Saturday Night. Before parting, </em><em><strong>Cornette</strong></em><em> did tell </em><em><strong>The Steiner Brothers</strong></em><em> that they had another week to train and prepare before they lost to his new tag team. (B-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>The Steiner Brothers</strong></em><em> took on and defeated local tag team </em><em><strong>The Harris Brothers</strong></em><em> instead of </em><em><strong>Jim Cornette’s </strong></em><em> mystery tag team ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Missy Hyatt</strong></em><em> was backstage with </em><em><strong>Paul E. Dangerously</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> wanting comments on his upcoming match with </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em>. </em><em><strong>Dangerously</strong></em><em>, of course, took this as his opportunity to speak on the developing “conspiracy”.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”Ahead of his Television Championship match at Superbrawl and he has to wrestle Lex Luger? Everyone thinks I’m crazy or that I’m shouting nonsense, but this is irrefutable proof that management is out to get Bobby Eaton. You think I’m staying in the locker room this time around? Absolutely not. And ‘American Dream’, justice will be served!”</strong></em><em> (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Both men put on a very entertaining match in the main event of Saturday Night. </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> only further impressed everyone backstage and proved that down the road, he could definitely be a major asset in the main event picture if we decided to go that route with him.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Knowing that we were going to go with a screwy finish here, we did allow things to stay competitive between the two but also wanted to make sure </em><em><strong>Eaton</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Dangerously</strong></em><em> would “heel it up” so that </em><em><strong>Lex Luger’s</strong></em><em> babyface comeback spots would go over well with the crowd and they did a great job of executing that instruction.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> With </em><em><strong>Lex</strong></em><em> picking up some momentum, we had WCW World Champion </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> come out to ringside and immediately floor </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> with a clothesline, so that </em><em><strong>Lex</strong></em><em> would pick up the disqualification win and </em><em><strong>Bobby Eaton</strong></em><em> would still remain strong going into Superbrawl. (B)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> continued his assault of </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em>. He first started outside of the ring, where he launched </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> into one of the steel posts. Referee </em><em><strong>Nick Patrick</strong></em><em> tried to stop </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em>, but the WCW World Champion chased him off. After that, </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> brought </em><em><strong>Luger</strong></em><em> into the ring, hitting him with not one, not two, but three big splashes.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> More WCW officials came down to ringside and they were able to get </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> out of the ring who was clutching at his ribcage and groaning in pain. With </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> being carried to the backstage area, </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> taunted in the ring as Saturday Night went off the air. (A*)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Saturday Night Grade: B+</strong></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ---</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>WCW Main Event</strong><p><strong> Taped Thursday, Week 1, April 1991 (Airs Sunday, Week 2, April 1991)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Tony Schiavone</strong></em><em> discuss the events that occurred at the end of WCW Saturday Night between </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> and revealed that they would air a replay of the encounter at the end of the show. (B-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>The Italian Stallion</strong></em><em> & </em><em><strong>Ranger Ross</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>The Royal Family</strong></em><em> (D+)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Clips from </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff’s</strong></em><em> sit down interviews with </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> aired. (A)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Ricky Morton</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker</strong></em><em> ©</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Sid Vicious</strong></em><em> defeated </em><em><strong>Pez Whatley</strong></em><em> (C-)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> A replay of </em><em><strong>Vader’s</strong></em><em> assault of </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> aired. </em><em><strong>Jim Ross</strong></em><em> indicated that no one was sure on the status of </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> but that they would have an update by next weekend. (A)</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>WCW Main Event Grade: C+</strong></p></div></blockquote>
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WCW Power Hour

Taped Wednesday, Week 2, April 1991 (Airs Friday, Week 2, April 1991)

 

Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously

 

A replay aired of Vader attacking Lex Luger on last Saturday’s WCW Saturday Night. Jim Ross stated that despite the assault, Lex Luger would, in fact, be in action tomorrow night on WCW Saturday Night. (B+)

 

Ranger Ross defeated Motor City Madman (D-)

 

Alexandra York and Steve Austin informed Tony Schiavone that they would deal with Dustin Rhodes the proper way and announced that Steve Austin would be taking on Dustin Rhodes tomorrow night on WCW Saturday Night. ©

 

Steve Austin defeated Keith Hart (C-)

 

The Steiner Brothers defeated local team The Super Destroyers (D)

 

Highlights of Eric Bischoff’s sit down interview with Ric Flair and Sting from last Saturday’s WCW Saturday Night aired to end Power Hour. (A)

 

WCW Power Hour Grade: C+

 

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WCW Saturday Night

Taped Wednesday, Week 2, April 1991 (Airs Saturday, Week 2, April 1991)

 

Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Magnum TA

 

Lex Luger defeated Big Cat. He had medical tape around his midsection and Jim Ross acknowledged this by stating that Lex Luger suffered bruised ribs from Vader’s attack. ©

 

Lex Luger joined Tony Schiavone on stage for an interview. He confirmed what Jim Ross said on commentary by stating that Vader injured his ribs. He acknowledged that he wasn’t going into Superbrawl 100% but did finish with a caveat.

 

”If you’re going to come after me, make sure you finish the job. I’ll see you at Superbrawl.” (B+)

 

A match between Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes was expected to take place, but when Austin’s theme music played on the Kiel Auditorium’s sound system,Austin’s usual theatrics was replaced with him stumbling out on stage instead. Before Jim Ross and Magnum TA could speculate what was happening, Dustin Rhodes joined Austin on stage, hitting him with a succession of right hands. The brawl went on for a couple of minutes before WCW officials broke things up. (C+)

 

The Dynamite Dream Team defeated The Minotaur & Rip Rogers (C-)

 

Jim Ross announced that Ric Flair and Sting would be at next week’s WCW Saturday Night (A*)

 

The Steiner Brothers came out for their match with Jim Cornette’s latest tag team...but no one showed up. Even Jim Cornette, the man who issued The Steiner Brothers the challenge, was absent. (C-)

 

Doom defeated The Italian Stallion & Ranger Ross (C-)

 

Doom joined Missy Hyatt on stage for an interview. She wanted words on the state of Doom going into Superbrawl. Teddy Long replied by stating that sometimes family fights, but at the end of the day, they come together and get on the same page. He reiterated that Doom was fine. The crowd wasn’t into Teddy Long talking here and that could probably be attributed to the success we had with Ron Simmons in recent weeks. Long also wasn’t getting along well with a few others in the back and in my opinion, I think these problems bled over into his professional work. (D+)

 

Tom Zenk defeated Buddy Landel (D+)

 

Dusty Rhodes was with Missy Hyatt on stage. We needed another time filler and thought it would be a good opportunity to put Dusty Rhodes in front of the crowd, as well as advertise Superbrawl. Dusty Rhodes ran down the matches and added Dustin Rhodes versus Steve Austin as the latest edition to the Pay Per View. He then concluded by informing Missy Hyatt that he had a big surprise for the show and that she wouldn’t want to miss it. (B)

 

Rick Rude defeated Ricky Morton

 

Not a lot to discuss in this main event. We established Ricky Morton as one of our higher tier talents who mainly served to put over our marquee names. The match wasn’t a letdown but the two didn’t exactly tear the house down, either. The crowd was into it enough, but I think by this point, no one really expected Ricky Morton to pull off the victory. About twelve minutes into the match, Rude pinned Morton after a Rude Awakening (C+)

 

Rick Rude got on the microphone and ran his usual schtick of discussing how much better looking he was than not only the WCW audience, but Paul Orndorff.

 

”This is for all those women out there who want to be with me and those fat sweathogs, like Paul Orndorff, who want to be me. Hit the music.”

 

Rick Rude started gyrating, expecting his music to come on but Paul Orndorff’s played on the soundsystem instead. ”Mr. Wonderful” came out on stage and took off his robe, flexing and posing for the audience. From the ring Rick Rude looked on in frustration as WCW Saturday Night went off the air. (B)

 

WCW Saturday Night Grade: B

 

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WCW Main Event

Taped Thursday, Week 2, April 1991 (Airs Sunday, Week 3, April 1991)

 

Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone

 

Lex Luger’s statement on Vader not finishing the job reaired. (A)

 

The Italian Stallion defeated Al Green (D-)

 

Terry Taylor defeated Wild Pegasus. The story here was Pegasus had his toughest challenge in Taylor and wasn’t quite at the experience level to take on a vet like Taylor (D+)

 

The segment between Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff from Saturday Night aired. Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone discussed Rick Rude’s Posedown Challenge at Superbrawl. (B-)

 

Steve Austin defeated Ranger Ross (C-)

 

Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone reminded everyone that Sting and Ric Flair would be at next Saturday’s WCW Saturday Night. (A)

 

WCW Main Event Grade: B-

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WCW Power Hour

Taped Wednesday, Week 3, April 1991 (Airs Friday, Week 3, April 1991)

 

Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously

 

*The Road to Superbrawl*

 

Power Hour started with Paul E. Dangerously guaranteeing victory for Bobby Eaton at Superbrawl.

 

”And when Bobby Eaton beats Tom Zenk fair and square, which he has already done anyway, there’s not a single thing Dusty Rhodes can do about it.” (A)

 

The Fabulous Freebirds defeated The Lightning Express ©

 

Barry Windham defeated Chris Youngblood ©

 

Lex Luger’s statement from last WCW Saturday Night aired. Jim Ross and Paul E. Dangerously also confirmed that Vader would be at tomorrow night’s WCW Saturday Night. (B)

 

Dan Spivey defeated Dustin Rhodes due in part to a distraction from Alexandra York ©

 

Jim Ross and Paul E. Dangerously reminded everyone that both Sting and Ric Flair would be at WCW Saturday Night ahead of their Superbrawl encounter. (A)

 

WCW Power Hour Grade: B-

 

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WCW Saturday Night

Taped Wednesday, Week 3, April 1991 (Airs Saturday, Week 3, April 1991)

 

Commentary Team: Jim Ross & Magnum TA

 

*The Road to Superbrawl*

 

The show started in the parking area of the Wildwoods Convention Center. A frantic Missy Hyatt indicated that she was with Lex Luger who was angrily pacing around at the entrance gate. She approached Luger who explained what was going on.

 

”I heard Vader would be here tonight. He tried to take me out before Superbrawl, it’s time I even the score.” (B)

 

The Dynamite Dream Team defeated local wrestlers David Haskins & Steven Dane (D+)

 

Arn Anderson & Barry Windham defeated The Young Pistols (C+)

 

Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, and Sid Vicious of The Four Horsemen joined Tony Schiavone on stage for an interview. Anderson asked for the The Steiner Brothers to come out on stage. Both Rick and Scott Steiner walked out on stage, confused as to what was going on. Anderson stated that it was obvious that Jim Cornette who Arn called a notorious con-artist was blowing smoke in their direction and that Cornette most likely high-tailed it when he couldn’t assemble a team to challenge The Steiners.

 

Arn then informed The Steiners that he and Windham had nothing scheduled for Superbrawl and challenged The Steiner Brothers. Scott and Rick Steiner accepted and shook hands with Arn, Windham, and Sid.

 

The Four Horsemen were designed to look like babyfaces in this segment to dispel any notion that they were going to help Ric Flair at Superbrawl. We’re not committing to actually turning any of the four at the moment, but for us on creative, it was important that we blurred the line during the build up to Superbrawl. (B-)

 

Paul E. Dangerously and Bobby Eaton cut one more interview with Missy Hyatt ahead of Bobby Eaton’s match with Tom Zenk at Superbrawl and it was arguably Dangerously’s best one yet.

 

”I don’t have to be at Superbrawl to know that my client will win. Look at him, Missy. Look at his résumé. Look at his accomplishments. All without me. I don’t have to tell you Bobby Eaton is one of the best wrestlers in the world because his work shows that. I’ve agreed to let myself be banned from Superbrawl. I’ve stopped pursuing legal action. Why? Because the best way to stick it to ‘The American Dream’ and that imbecile, Tom Zenk, is to let my client go out there and do what he does best. Win. When his hand is raised, this thing is over. No more Tom Zenk. No more collusion. No more Dusty Rhodes getting in our business. Leave me and Bobby Eaton alone or JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED!” (A*)

 

Jim Ross and Magnum TA advertised Superbrawl from commentary. They talked about some of the matches on the card when the crowd suddenly broke into a commotion. A loud thud could be heard and Ross and Magnum began wondering what was going on. On the stage, Vader, sans mask, could be seen stumbling out before falling to the floor. Lex Luger soon came out behind him before going back behind the curtain.

 

Luger came out again, this time with a steel chair and slammed the chair over Vader’s back, another loud thud echoing throughout the Convention Center. Luger waited for Vader to stand back up and then shoved the chair into Vader’s ribs causing the WCW World Champion to collapse on stage. Luger was able to hit Vader in the back one more time with the chair before WCW personnel came out and separated the WCW World Championship challenger from the WCW World Champion. Magnum TA concluded by stating that Lex Luger said he’d get even tonight and it looked like he did. (A)

 

Paul Orndorff defeated Kevin Sullivan (B-)

 

Dusty Rhodes advertised WCW Superbrawl, joining Magnum TA and Jim Ross from the broadcast position. He talked about the seven matches for the show, confirming that The Steiner Brothers and Arn Anderson & Barry Windham would indeed take place at the Pay Per View. Dusty reminded everyone that he had a big surprise at Superbrawl that would shock the world. Dusty then guaranteed that fans would not want to miss the show. (A)

 

Bobby Eaton defeated Ricky Morton (C+)

 

Dustin Rhodes & Brian Pillman defeated Larry Zbyszko & Steve Austin

 

This tag team match was booked in an effort to get all four men on the go home show of WCW Saturday Night while also continuing their feuds. Neither feud was a central focus on our show but we did deliver enough for both feuds that fans were invested in Dustin Rhodes and Brian Pillman finally getting their hands on Steve Austin and Larry Zbyszko respectively.

 

The match went about thirteen to fourteen minutes. Harley Race produced the match and wanted the heels to control most of the action so that the crowd would pop when either Dustin or Pillman got their comeback spots. We also wanted to give the good guys here a win going into Superbrawl so it was Dustin Rhodes who would pin Steve Austin to win the match for his team. (B-)

 

Sting and Ric Flair made their entrances and joined Eric Bischoff on stage for the first face to face interview one day before they would meet at Superbrawl. We felt that this interview segment was critically important. After all, it was our last chance to get our viewers to purchase Superbrawl. We were extremely delicate with the interview tonight. We drafted several outlines on what each wrestler should say but also really trusted them with freedom so things would sound authentic; a true contest between WCW’s best competitors.

 

”Ric, before I met you, all I wanted was to exist in professional wrestling. All the traveling. Working those no name shows. I was just glad to finally have a place in wrestling. Then I came here to WCW. Finally getting a chance to see you wrestle first hand, it inspired me. I idolized you. ‘Just being there’ was no longer good enough. I wanted to etch my legacy. Foolish of me, I know, but I didn’t think me pushing myself would see you and I cross paths. There I was, just a kid at Clash of Champions. I took you to your limit. I pushed you like no one else before. Forty five minutes, Flair. I didn’t even know I had it in me.

 

That’s when you started to feel threatened. You thought I was coming for your spot but honestly, I was just ecstatic that I was able to hang with you for that long. That didn’t stop you and the rest of The Horsemen from making my time in WCW as miserable as possible. Then when Terry Funk and The Great Muta attacked you, I thought you and I had finally forged a friendship. I became a Horsemen, even. But it was just a ruse to get me to let my guard down. You took me out. You thought I was done for but I came back at Great American Bash.

 

And that’s when I realized that maybe I just might be better than you Flair but I have to know. I have to know that for 100% fact. Superbrawl is not just another event where I come out and wrestle. It’s my litmus test. It’s a chance for me to know, with 100% certainty, just how good I am. I have to beat you Flair.” (Sting)

 

”It’s funny how everyone remembers things differently, isn’t it? I was never threatened by you Stinger. I saw a young kid who didn’t have an ego, didn’t have an attitude, or a chip on his shoulder. I saw a tough kid with grit who scratched and clawed his way for a chance to earn a World Championship match. I saw a kid who didn’t have much in the way of experience and let a match, that a better, more experienced wrestler could have ended in twenty, go to a forty five minute draw.

 

I didn’t let you in the Four Horsemen to take advantage of you Sting, I let you join because you needed guidance. You had raw, untapped skill. You didn’t know how to execute it but it was still there. Ole, Arn, and myself we wanted to make you one of the best wrestlers in history. What did you do? You put yourself first. The second you had a chance to challenge me for the World Championship you took it. We kicked you out of The Horsemen because you were toxic and selfish.

 

I’ve never needed to cheat to beat you, Sting. I do what I do to put you in your place and remind you that you’re a boy playing a man’s game. But a couple of months ago you called me out on this stage and told me we needed to settle things once and for all. You told me you wanted to finish this thing like men and I respect the hell out of you for that.

 

At Superbrawl, Sting, it’s not a matter of me needing to prove I’m the best. I know I am. It’s a matter of me reminding you that you’re just another kid who got too far ahead of himself and burned out before he could let his career really take off. When Superbrawl ends, after you shake my hand, look me in the eye, and tell me to my face that I’m the better man, you’ll be at a crossroads. You’ll ask yourself where do you go from here? What’s next for Stinger? Maybe then you’ll finally listen to my advice and stay in your place.” (Ric Flair) (A)

 

WCW Saturday Night Grade: B

 

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WCW Main Event

Matches taped Thursday, Week 3, April 1991 (Studio segments live Sunday, Week 4, April 1991. Matches air Sunday, Week 4, April 1991)

 

In Ring Commentary: Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone

 

Studio Personalities: Eric Bischoff & Missy Hyatt

 

*Superbrawl Pre-Show*

 

Paul E. Dangerously was the first to join Eric Bischoff and Missy Hyatt and already contradicting what he said on WCW Saturday Night, he complained about being banned from Superbrawl and that his legal team was looking into the situation (A)

 

Buddy Landel defeated Keith Hart (D)

 

Steve Austin and Alexandra York joined Bischoff and Hyatt. York indicated that Dustin Rhodes was going to regret the day he turned down York’s offer (C-)

 

The Lightning Express defeated Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker and Motor City Madman (D+)

 

Teddy Long joined Eric Bischoff and Missy Hyatt reassuring that there was no rift between Long and Ron Simmons and that they would see that tonight when Doom retained against The Dynamite Dream Team again ©

 

Big Cat defeated Steve Armstrong (D)

 

Dusty Rhodes joined Missy Hyatt and Eric Bischoff getting some last minute advertising in for Superbrawl. He ran the card down the card one more time and concluded by saying that fans of WCW would not want to miss out on the show. (A)

 

WCW Main Event Grade: C+

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WCW Superbrawl Preview

 

The Fight to End it All

Sting vs. Ric Flair

 

(At the conclusion of WrestleWar 91, Sting and Ric Flair came to the realization that neither man could pursuit WCW World Championship success if they kept battling each other. Sting proposed that they have one final match. This time, the loser had to shake the winner’s hand and admit that the winner was the better man. For Ric Flair and Sting, this isn’t just another match. This is a chance to prove once and for all who the better wrestler in WCW is.)

 

WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Vader© vs. Lex Luger

 

(After beating Sid Vicious at WrestleWar 91, Lex Luger made his intentions clear: he wanted the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Vader took offense to this challenge by stating that if Lex Luger wanted a match, he had to say it to his face. The two finally met face to face at an episode of WCW Saturday Night and Lex Luger refused to back down. Vader decided to take it upon himself and make Lex Luger pay for his transgressions, bruising Lex Luger’s ribs as a result. Lex Luger evened the score by taking out Vader with a steel chair on the last episode of WCW Saturday Night. With both men seemingly not at 100%, who will walk away with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship?)

 

Larry Zbyszko vs. Brian Pillman

 

(Larry Zbyszko took offense to WCW running a feature on Brian Pillman and The Calgary Kid, who were referred to as WCW’s “Youth Movement”. As a result, Zbyszko challenged The Calgary Kid to a match. The WCW fans were shocked when The Calgary Kid pulled off an upset victory, but not nearly as shocked as Larry Zbyszko who wanted rematch. In the rematch, Larry Zbyszko nearly broke The Calgary Kid’s ankle when he locked in a submission and refused to let it go after The Calgary Kid submitted. With The Calgary Kid now on crutches, Brian Pillman is looking to avenge his friend by beating Larry Zbyszko at Superbrawl.)

 

WCW World Tag Team Championships

Doom© w/ Teddy Long vs. The Dynamite Dream Team

 

(Since joining the WCW, The Dynamite Dream team had been undefeated until they faced Doom They challenged Doom for the Tag Team Championships on an episode of WCW Saturday Night, and thanks to interference from Teddy Long, Doom ended The Dream Team’s winning streak. Ron Simmons of Doom was not happy with the way things went down and requested a rematch with The Dynamite Dream Team at Superbrawl. Despite all three members of Doom indicating that things are fine, will Teddy Long and Ron Simmons be on the same page at Superbrawl?)

 

Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin w/ Alexandra York

 

(Alexandra York could be spotted on WCW television scouting for talent to join The Alexandra York Foundation. After weeks of note taking, she surmised that if Dustin Rhodes accepted her offer, she could properly fund and advise him and help him improve his win/loss record. Dustin Rhodes equated joining The York Foundation with selling out and refused her offer. Steve Austin took offense to Dustin Rhode’s refusal and took it upon himself to take Dustin Rhodes out. The two had a match scheduled for WCW Saturday Night that never got underway due to the two brawling around the arena. The match was rescheduled for Superbrawl. Will Dustin Rhodes prove that he doesn’t need help to get his career on the right track? Will Alexandra York get the last laugh and show why you should never cross The York Foundation?)

 

The Steiner Brothers vs. Arn Anderson & Barry Windham w/ Sid Vicious

 

(For several weeks, Jim Cornette had made appearances on WCW television issuing a challenge for The Steiners. Jim Cornette had apparently put together a new tag team that he claimed were destined for great things. He wanted to prove that by immediately going after one of WCW’s best tag teams. After weeks of the tag team not showing up for their match against The Steiners, it was obvious that Jim Cornette had duped everyone. Arn Anderson and Barry Windham stepped in and offered to wrestle The Steiners in an exhibition match for Superbrawl.)

 

Two Out of Three Falls

Paul Heyman Banned From Superbrawl

WCW Television Championship

Bobby Eaton vs. Tom Zenk

 

(In their first match, Tom Zenk pinned Bobby Eaton despite Bobby Eaton having his foot on the rope. This caused Paul E. Dangerously to pair up with Bobby Eaton and lobby for WCW management to correct the situation. Tom Zenk vacated the Television Championship and the two met in a rematch at WrestleWar 91 where Tom Zenk had his foot on the rope this time only for Paul E. Dangerously to push it off. After reviewing the footage, Dusty Rhodes stripped Bobby Eaton of the Television Championship and declared that both men would meet one more time in a two out of three falls match with Paul E. Dangerously banned from Superbrawl with the winner being declared the undisputed WCW Television Champion.)

 

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WCW Magazine Fantasy Warfare (Grey Dog Pick'Em)

 

Sting vs. Ric Flair

 

Vader defending against Lex Luger

 

Brian Pillman vs. Larry Zbyszko

 

Doom defending against The Dynamite Dream Team

 

Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin

 

Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. The Steiner Brothers

 

Tom Zenk vs. Bobby Eaton

 

Five point bonus: what is the surprise announcement Dusty Rhodes has been talking about?

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Five Hours to Go

 

Even with my day going a lot smoother than the Sunday of WrestleWar, I’m pretty sure I had only slept four hours in the last two days. We weren’t faced with the challenge of having to rewrite drafts of the main event and no one had voiced any major concerns with what we expected from them tonight, but still, it was Pay Per View. The word going around was that, as of this past Friday, Superbrawl was going to be at capacity. We billed the show as a double main event with Ric Flair and Sting and Vader defending the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Lex Luger. Our strategy paid off and now we had 34,000 people ready to see tonight’s show as a result.

 

With that kind of number, it was imperative that the show went off without a hitch and Eric instructed us to show up to the arena two hours earlier than the talent because he had major news.

 

”This pertains to Dusty’s segment at the beginning of the show tonight. I’ve been playing it close to the chest and I know that’s not fair to you guys, but I had to do it. Tonight Dusty is supposed to announce a Clash of Champions TBS special for June but I was able to make it ****ing happen!”

 

I can’t lie, Eric Bischoff had this shit eating grin that clued me in that whatever was about to happen might be a bigger deal than I initially realized. Eric Bischoff then motioned toward the door and everyone seemed pleasantly surprised at the sight of the man who joined us in the room.

 

”This is going to be hot. It’s not hit any of the rag sheets out there yet. This is going to be news. Welcome to our team!”

 

So there it was. Eric was very adamant about having Dusty Rhodes talk about a surprise announcement on WCW television and we all thought it was a tad bit overboard considering that we were only announcing a TBS special. But there it was, Bischoff’s real play. Our first big blow to the titan that was WWF. What a way to start Superbrawl.

 

Alright, this is the warning post! Superbrawl will be up soon. Send in those predictions!

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Sting vs. Ric Flair

 

Vader defending against Lex Luger

 

Brian Pillman vs. Larry Zbyszko

 

Doom defending against The Dynamite Dream Team

 

Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin

 

Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. The Steiner Brothers

 

Tom Zenk vs. Bobby Eaton

 

Five point bonus: what is the surprise announcement Dusty Rhodes has been talking about? A new star, probably someone good from the WWF with how excited Eric is about it.

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Sting vs. Ric Flair

Flair vs Sting, Sting vs Flair. My heart always says go with Flair but something is up here with the Horsemen. So because Sting is younger and Flair’s contract should be up very soon, I’m going with Sting.

 

Vader defending against Lex Luger

Vader just won the title so I do not see him losing it so quickly

 

Brian Pillman vs. Larry Zbyszko

I want to take the Living Legend here but again my head is telling me Pillman

 

Doom defending against The Dynamite Dream Team

With the drama building in Doom I can see some sort of issue causing them to drop the belts

 

Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin

I was hoping Dustin would have taken the money and wherever else Miss York was offering to sign with the Foundation, since Daddy Dusty is too busy with things to pay attention to his son. Dustin will pay for his lack of vision here

 

Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. The Steiner Brothers

Could the Horsemen be Cornette’s mystery team? Whatever happens Cornette will get involved and that will lift the Steiners to a DQ win

 

Tom Zenk vs. Bobby Eaton

Never was a fan of the Z-Man so look for Eaton to take the 3rd fall to win

 

Five point bonus: what is the surprise announcement Dusty Rhodes has been talking about?The signing of Hot Rod Roddy Piper

X

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WCW Superbrawl

Live from Louisville, Kentucky

 

Airs Live on Pay Per View Sunday, Week 4, April 1991)

 

Commentary Team: Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone

 

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The show started with Dusty Rhodes in the ring. He welcomed the 34,000 in attendance and the people watching at home to WCW Superbrawl and promised that tonight would be a night they would never forget. He mentioned the double main event tonight of Vader defending the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Lex Luger and Ric Flair taking on Sting in what had been advertised as the final chapter of their storied rivalry.

 

Dusty then put some attention toward the WCW Television Championship program by stating to the audience that he felt great tonight, because that sneaky, conniving rat Paul E. Dangerously wasn’t in the building. Then it was onto the big news for tonight.

 

”That’s not the only reason I’m feeling great! Ya see, as manager of WCW, I’m working 24 hours a day to give you people the best professional wrestling on god’s green earth, baby! That’s why all of you are invited to join us on TBS when we go to Hawaii for Clash of the Champions: Beach Blast in June. That’s right, daddy, we’re starting the summer off right with an event you don’t want to miss!

 

Oh...and I almost forgot one thing... Ya see, I’m not gonna be on commentary tonight. I have a lot of work to do in the office to make sure Beach Blast is the highlight of your summer. Now I know Ross and Schiavone are gonna be lonely without me if you will. I don’t want them sufferin’ during this great Pay Per View tonight because they're missin’ ‘The American Dream’. So I found someone who I think might be up to to the task of calling all the action tonight, baby.

 

WCW, GIVE IT UP FOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

'ROWDY’ RODDY PIPER!”

 

From our production area, we could hear just how loud the arena got the moment the sound of bagpipes played on the soundsystem and Piper stepped out on stage. This was Eric Bischoff’s big play. He had discovered that Piper’s contract was coming to an end with the World Wrestling Federation and sent a feeler to Piper, not fully expecting a response.

 

The truth was Roddy Piper had just landed the lead role in an upcoming project titled Immortal Combat and he was needing to take a few months off for filming. Because of all the time off needed and the possibility of not working in an in-ring capacity, the rumor was that Vince’s contract renewal offer had a lower downside guarantee with a bit smaller of a base salary.

 

Eric, on the other hand, saw this as a major opportunity. Take a popular name like Roddy Piper and it would help legitimize WCW as a tip tier promotion. Not only that, but WCW now had crossover appeal with Roddy Piper being a leading man in Hollywood. To our surprise, though, Piper was very much interested in working in an in-ring capacity, but Eric has decided to keep him as a color commentator for WCW Pay Per Views for the weeks leading up to his shoots for Immortal Combat. Upon his return, we’d figure out something from there.

 

Piper shook the hands of Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone before putting a headset on himself. The bagpipes eventually ceased and the audience, though still loud, were calming down.

 

”I tells ya, I’m excited for tonight. This show is stacked with the best professional wrestlers in the world! Sting and Ric Flair they’ve been to the dance a few times but it all comes down to tonight. The little Stingers are everywhere in Louisville tonight. Ric Flair and Sting the final chapter. Man, I tells ya I can’t wait!” (A)

 

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Brian Pillman vs. Larry Zbyszko

 

Our options for show opener came down between this match and the match between Dustin Rhodes and Steve Austin. The decision was made to place Rhodes and Austin as a buffer between the two main events, though. The reason for the decision came down to which match would be perceived as being worked better.

 

We weren’t worried about starting off the show with something hot because our introduction of Roddy Piper was the perfect way to start the show. We felt that with Larry Zbyszko’s experience and Brian Pillman connecting with the crowd in recent weeks, that they could properly follow up such an unexpected introduction of Piper.

 

This match was used to bring The Calgary Kid back onto WCW television after his rematch with Larry Zbyszko on WCW Saturday Night a few weeks back. The Calgary Kid was still on crutches due to Zbyszko’s submission hold, but he was out there to offer support to his friend Brian Pillman.

 

The Calgary Kid and the crutch would play a pivotal role in the end of the match. Larry Zbyszko had Brian Pillman on the ropes and it looked like he was getting closer to victory. The Calgary Kid kept trying to lend some support to Pillman, but Zbyszko saw this as an opportunity to inflict some extra punishment onto an already injured Calgary.

 

Not wanting any further injuries to occur to his ankle, The Calgary Kid made his way down the entrance way and back toward the stage. Larry Zbyszko slowly walked toward him, with a huge grin on his face. With nowhere to go, it seemed that The Calgary Kid was in trouble, but then he donned a huge smirk. Larry Zbyszko had been duped. The Calgary Kid began walking fine on both feet, not an injury to speak off. He then began to swing the crutch in the air as if he was going to hit Zbyszko with it.

 

At this sight, Zbyszko held his hands in the air, as if to ask for forgiveness and slowly backed his way down the aisle and back toward ringside. Brian Pillman took this opportunity to attack Zbyszko from behind, rolling him back into the ring. An Air Pillman later, and Pillman’s hand would be raised.

 

As far as an opening match goes, this is exactly what we asked for. We needed to cool the crowd after such a big opening segment, but didn’t want whatever followed to be a letdown. Pillman, Zbyszko, and Kid were able to keep the crowd invested while telling a pretty decent story.

 

Brian Pillman defeated Larry Zbyszko by pinfall (C+)

 

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Two out of Three Falls

WCW Television Championship

Bobby Eaton vs. Tom Zenk

 

A lot of our core audience were most likely expecting Paul E. Dangerously to show up in this match, but he was legitimately banned from the building. Okay, we actually gave him the night off, but my version sounds a lot better. While we’ve loved the work that we’ve gotten out of the Paul E. Dangerously and Bobby Eaton pairing, it was still important that we showed, that when push came to shove, Bobby Eaton could get things done in the ring.

 

We had a few reasons for our decision, but most importantly, we decided to shape the WCW Television Championship with an identity separate from the WCW World Championship. Don’t get me wrong, the WCW World Championship is THE Championship of WCW, but the Television Championship needed to have an identity of its own, too, and not just a secondary title.

 

So, the WCW Television Championship, at least in this match, would have a greater attention to the work of both of these guys. There wouldn’t be any antics such as Paul E. Dangerously sneaking back into the building or Bobby Eaton developing some other kind of parlor trick to win. It would be two guys showcasing their in-ring talent to best each other.

 

Tom Zenk would pick up the first pinfall after a flying crossbody from the second rope that got a great reaction from the crowd. Bobby Eaton got the second pinfall about seven minutes later after rolling through a second crossbody attempt from Zenk and scoring a pinfall from the reversal. The final pinfall came at about eighteen minutes in when Tom Zenk, who had Bobby Eaton positioned against the turnbuckles, climbed the ropes for a ten punch combination sequence. Midway through the series of punches, Bobby Eaton countered by slamming Tom Zenk to the canvas and then took the top rope with an Alabama Jam to win the match.

 

This was the fourth match between Tom Zenk and Bobby Eaton and it was without a doubt their best together yet. Both men brought their A-game and because of that, what could have easily been written off as a match series that had been overdone concluded with a really good ending.

 

The chemistry between Tom Zenk and Bobby Eaton is undeniable, but you can only go to that well so many times. Our hope is that down the road when these two are, hopefully, higher on the card we can revisit this match up again.

 

Bobby Eaton defeated Tom Zenk to become the undisputed WCW Television Champion (B)

 

---

 

The Steiner Brothers vs. Arn Anderson & Barry Windham

 

To put it bluntly, this match was just thrown together. We had no idea what to do here and then on the final set of tapings before Superbrawl, we decided to add this as part of the show. There’s no better way to say it, poor planning, dumb thinking, whatever. We completely messed this up.

 

In an ideal world, this is what would have occurred: Jim Cornette comes out and says he’s bringing a new tag team to WCW. Each week, something happens where the team can’t make it. The final show before Superbrawl, Jim Cornette comes out, says they’re not here. Steiners work against some local guys instead and then Dan Spivey and Stan Hansen come out and pick Scott and Rick apart. Then Cornette gets on the mic and says something along the lines of “When I said they weren’t here, I meant they weren’t here in the ring yet…” setting up for a Superbrawl match.

 

In reality, here is what actually occurred: We signed Jim Cornette to a one month handshake agreement. Someone didn’t look at their calendar correctly. That one month agreement ended two weeks before Superbrawl. Meanwhile All Japan Wrestling doubled down on Stan Hansen and crowned him the Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion. What this meant for us was Hansen would be in Japan for the entire month of April. You would have thought that someone would have looked into that…

 

Even if we wanted to introduce a new tag team instead, we still didn’t have Jim Cornette and having him hype up a new tag team for weeks and then not have him there when they actually did show up seemed kind of...well...dumb. So the decision was made to have The Steiners take on Arn Anderson and Barry Windham instead and honestly, it was a good call.

 

The match was pretty good, the crowd were into it and it also gave us the means to get The Steiners and Anderson and Barry Windham on the show. The wrestling was pretty good here given the twelve minute time frame they had, but the victory ended up going Rick and Scott’s way after Scott Steiner connected with a Frankensteiner on Barry Windham.

 

We continued the face/heel ambiguity of The Four Horsemen by having all four men shake hands after the match. It was just a small touch that would continue to sell people on the idea of The Four Horsemen not getting involved in tonight’s main event.

 

The Steiner Brothers defeated Arn Anderson & Barry Windham by pinfall (B-)

 

---

 

WCW Tag Team Championships

Doom© defend against The Dynamite Dream Team

 

We did not realize how well these teams worked against each other until we gave them about fifteen minutes to work their match tonight. This was a case of power against power. Not only did all four men look like people you wouldn’t want to start trouble with at your local bar, but they hit hard. They looked like they were hurting each other because they probably were. Not because there was any ill intent. They were just four of our toughest, stiffest brutes and so they naturally clobbered each other in there.

 

Make no mistakes about it, our goal here was to give the WCW Tag Team Championships to The Dynamite Dream Team. The angle from their first match on WCW Saturday Night was that there was a little bit of dissension between Ron Simmons and Teddy Long of Doom and we furthered that tonight.

 

Teddy Long looked poised to get himself involved in the match, but Ron Simmons hopped down from his tag corner and pulled Teddy Long off the apron. The two began arguing outside of the ring and Butch Reed, the legal man, tried to get them to stop their argument from in the ring.

 

With Butch Reed being distracted from the in fighting between Ron Simmons and Teddy Long, Terry Gordy was able to pin Butch Reed after slamming him to the canvas with a belly to back suplex.

 

The Dynamite Dream Team defeated Doom to become the new WCW World Tag Team Champions (B)

 

---

 

WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Big Van Vader© defends against Lex Luger

 

This was the first of our double headliner for tonight and man did these two deliver. I don’t think we realized just how much Lex Luger could deliver for us until after WrestleWar. I’m not suggesting that none of us were high on him. Back in January, a majority of us just saw him as a popular name that fans liked a lot. We were just plugging him into higher matches on the card because of the response he received.

 

Since that WrestleWar match with Sid Vicious, Lex Luger has continued to show us why he belongs in the dance with our marquee names. Without a doubt, up until this point in the night, Lex Luger and Vader was the best match on the show. In terms of crowd reaction and overall in ring performance. The match had all the components to make for a classic, two popular names, a good storyline going into it, and once again, good performances from both men.

 

This also confirmed that the Vader pet project was paying off for us. He offered something different from the typical WCW norm and because of that, he was an unproven commodity. If WrestleWar was the welcoming stage for Vader, then Superbrawl was his official coronation in the upper echelon of WCW talent. He had size, intimidation, looked like a monster, and could also go in the ring.

 

With as good as the match was, the story here was Lex Luger’s bruised ribs. The Total Package used great body language to show that the injury was affecting him. Often grabbing at his taped ribs after a big move. The big moment came when Lex Luger looked like he was primed for victory, tried lifting Vader for a major bodyslam but collapsed underneath the big man due to the pain from his ribs. Vader took the opportunity to not only drop one big body splash, but two more before picking up the win.

 

Once again, this was without a doubt the best match of the show and was one of WCW’s best matches so far this year. A lot of gossip going around the office was that since the ownership shake up, a lot of talent are becoming motivated to put their best foot forward. We’ve had hiccups along the way, but the work from Lex Luger in this match exemplified that the guys in the locker room want to show that they can be reliable when given the chance.

 

Vader defeated Lex Luger by pinfall to successfully defend the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (B+)

 

---

 

From a creative and booking standpoint, we wanted to put as much time between the two main events so that one wouldn’t affect the other from a crowd reaction standpoint. So the Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff Posedown Challenge was slotted to take place after the World Championship match. Missy Hyatt hosted the event, giving our audience some eye candy. She played up to the crowd a little, by talking about how exciting Superbrawl had been so far. She then advertised the segment as “The Battle of the Bodies”. First a robed Rick Rude came out taunting the audience before entering the ring. Then the crowd favorite Paul Orndorff made his way to ringside, slapping hands with the audience, before getting in the ring, as well.

 

”Alright, gentlemen! Rick Rude, this was your challenge, you explained the rules in the back, but I’m going to let our audience know how this wor-” (Missy Hyatt)

 

”How about you let a man do the talking. Orndorff, you slob, it’s quite simple. I know I’m better looking than you and I’m going to prove it. When I take this robe off and show off this ravishing physique, all the women in this building are going to bite, claw, and scratch their way to get into this ring and get a piece of me. Meanwhile, these poor out of shape Kentucky redneck men are going to wish they were me, but even they’ll have no choice but to cheer because just like you, Orndorff, they wish they could be me. Now hit my music!” (Rick Rude)

 

Rick Rude’s music played on the soundsystem and he began gyrating before disrobing. Don’t be alarmed, he was still in his wrestling tights, but he began to flex and pose for the audience, who were very clearly booing him.

 

”Alright...give it up for Rick Rude...Okay now ‘Mr. Wonderful’, you heard the rules. We’re ready when you are.” (Missy Hyatt)

 

“Mr. Wonderful’s” music hit the soundsystem and he disrobed. He flexed for the crowd, but the second the audience started to cheer for him, he was immediately attacked by Rick Rude. Missy Hyatt immediately fled from the ring and Rick Rude continued his assault. Paul Orndorff never could fight back because he was completely blindsided. WCW staff officially pulled Rude off of Orndorff and then tended to the incapacitated ”Mr. Wonderful”.

 

Rick Rude’s music played on the soundsystem again and he gyrated once more, flexing his muscles much to the chagrin of the audience. A huge smile donned on Rick Rude’s face as he stopped taunting the audience before leaving the ring and heading back to the locker room.

 

For what it was, it was a pretty decent segment. We didn’t want to overload the Pay Per View with matches and wanted to space some things out for future shows. This was a way to give some heat to Paul Orndorff and Rick Rude’s program without having them wrestle each other yet. The crowd was even into it, despite not being the kind of segment that WCW had been typically known for. (B-)

 

---

 

Steve Austin w/Alexandra York vs. Dustin Rhodes

 

As stated before, the reason why this match was so high up the card was to give some more spacing between the two main events. Our only options on this show were between this match and the match with Larry Zbyszko and Brian Pillman. The idea was that Zbyszko and Pillman could probably warm the crowd up more properly than rookies Austin and Rhodes so here we were.

 

Dustin really deserved a Pay Per View paycheck, so this storyline was created as a way to make that happen. With Dusty Rhodes being on the writing team, one would be quick to think the recent Pay Per View push for Dustin Rhodes was due to nepotism, but the truth is Dustin Rhodes did a radio show in North Carolina to promote February’s WrestleWar. On a Pay Per View show Dustin Rhodes wasn’t even working on and considering how lightly he was used on television Dustin Rhodes could have used the interview to voice his displeasure with the way things were going with him in WCW, but instead had glowing things to say about WCW and its new management. This was his reward so to speak.

 

The match was more focused on calming the crowd down before the main event, but they still did a fairly decent job of telling a story in this match. Steve Austin would jack his jaw with the crowd to get some heat. Dustn Rhodes would hit a string of hard hitting offensive moves to get the crowd to rally on his side.

 

The match only went about nine minutes, if even that, and the ending introduced a young talent who we had just recently signed. Dustin Rhodes was setting Steve Austin up for a running bulldog. Alexandra York, who saw the end in sight, hopped on the apron to get referee Randy Anderson’s attention. With Anderson’s back to the athletes, an unknown man came into the ring and immediately dropped Dustin Rhodes with a DDT. That man then lifted Austin up and draped him over Rhodes, sliding out of the ring afterward. Once the unnamed man disappeared from ringside, Alexandra York removed herself from the apron and the referee counted the pinfall, giving Steve Austin the win.

 

The man who interfered in the match joined Alexandra York and Steve Austin on stage, shaking both of their hands. Roddy Piper, Tony Schiavone, and Jim Ross couldn’t even take a guess at who the man was, but the camera did catch a good look at him.

 

(http://nwo4life.com/nwo/hall/studd/dstudd06.jpg)

 

Steve Austin w/ Alexandra York defeated Dustin Rhodes by pinfall ©

 

---

 

The Final Chapter

Sting vs. Ric Flair

 

It all came down to this. If this match felt like the most important on the show, it’s because we designed it that way. Yes, Vader being the WCW World Champion was a big deal to us. Yes, it seemed contradictory to not put Vader’s first title defense last on the show. Yes, we wanted to take WCW direction to a new direction. However, things weren’t completely lost on us, Ric Flair and Sting are the heart and soul of WCW. To make what we’ve been advertising as the ending point in their historical rivalry anything less than the main event of the show would be poor decision making.

 

With as well as Lex Luger and Vader went, it was imperative that Ric Flair and Sting went without a hitch and was every bit as good as the WCW World Heavyweight title match. For a full twenty-five minutes, Flair and Sting delivered in every conceivable way.

 

 

One of the biggest takeaways from this match was that there was absolutely no interference on Ric Flair’s behalf nor did he use any cheap tactics to gain a shortcut. We were advertising this match as one where respect was on the line. So Ric Flair put his pride and his word as a man before cheating to come out ahead. Because of that, the beginning of the match had a lot of pure, scientific wrestling that the WCW fans could get behind.

 

As the match went on, things began to evolve. Ric Flair began utilizing his signature knife edge chops to bruise Sting’s chest. Sting would retaliate by hitting some chops of his own. Eventually, the chops would turn into punches and the scientific wrestling turned into a brawl for a brief amount of time that got the crowd roaring.

 

Ric Flair locked Sting in the Figure Four and things were looking to come to an end, but Sting managed to roll over onto his stomach, with the leverage of the Figure Four now working in Sting’s favor, Ric Flair quickly fought for a rope break. Several minutes after that, Sting signaled for the Scorpion Death Lock, but as he was positioning Ric Flair’s legs for the submission, Ric Flair caught him with a small package pin. Ric Flair finally put things between him and Sting behind him.

 

ONE...

 

TWO...

 

NO! Sting managed to power out of the pin. The commentary team of Piper, Ross, Schiavone were stunned. The crowd was stunned. Most importantly, Ric Flair was stunned but he knew that every second that he spent not attacking Sting would give Sting a chance to recover. Ric Flair moved toward Sting and Sting shocked everyone with a surprise package pin of his own.

 

ONE...

 

TWO

 

THR...NO! Ric Flair kicked out as well. The commentary team went nuts at the sight of Ric Flair kicking out and Jim Ross indicated that it was anyone’s ballgame at this point. Both Sting and Ric Flair slowly fought back to their feet and went back at it again.

 

Eventually, Sting introduced his newest move combination. He first started by lifting Ric Flair in the air and dropping him with an overhead press slam. Sting then immediately followed up by whipping Ric Flair into a corner of the ring, followed by jumping on Flair with a Stinger Splash. Sting then whipped Flair to the opposite corner of the ring and hit him with another Stinger Splash. Sting then hit the ropes and hit Ric Flair, who came bouncing off the turnbuckle after the second Stinger Splash, with a crossbody. With that Sting hooked Ric Flair’s leg and earned the pinfall victory. The final chapter was over and Sting had defeated Flair.

 

The match clocked in at twenty five minutes and there wasn’t a dull moment. The goal here was to legitimately put Ric Flair and Sting’s rivalry in the past. Not because we didn’t like it or because it represented “the old” WCW but because a feud that important to WCW didn’t need to be driven to the ground. If we advertise it as a last chapter now and then say two or three years from now go back to it (provided they still work for us), we could draw a lot more money from it than doing it every two to three months.

 

Sting defeated Ric Flair by pinfall (B+)

 

---

 

Both Sting and Ric Flair stood across from each other in the ring, both men looking one another in the eye. Even though there seemed to be tension, Ric Flair extended his arm out and shook Sting’s hand like he promised he would. The two eventually hugged, the crowd loudly approving. Ric Flair then lifted Sting’s arm in the air and Flair called him “the man”. Ric Flair left the ring and Sting dropped to a knee on the canvas, clearly exhausted from the match.

 

The referee went to check on Sting while Ric Flair slapped hands with the crowd as he headed up the stage. Once on the stage, Flair turned looking back to the ring and shouting that tonight, Sting was the better man. The joyous moment came to an end however as Ric Flair collapsed on the stage after being knocked down by Vader. Vader wasted no time and picked Ric Flair back up, slamming him on the hard stage with a massive powerbomb and as a result, Flair laid motionless.

 

Vader disappeared to the locker room and once Sting realized what happened, he sprinted the full length of the entrance way and knelt down beside Flair who was still motionless. The commentary team called Vader’s actions despicable and WCW officials came pouring out from the backstage area to tend to Flair who still hadn’t moved an inch. The rest of The Four Horsemen joined Sting on stage trying to get the seemingly unconscious Ric Flair to come to, but Superbrawl went off the air before anything could be resolved. (A*)

 

---

 

WCW Superbrawl Grade: B+

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<p>Piper AND whatever name Hall will use in the same night?! <img alt=":eek:" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/eek.png.0e09df00fa222c85760b9bc1700b5405.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p>

And I love what you're doing with Vader. You've really tapped into how WCW used him pre-Hogan Era, and that's a good thing for sure.</p>

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<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Behind the Curtain</strong><p> </p><p> <em><strong>”We ****ing did it! That’s two Pay Per Views that we knocked right out of the god damn park!”</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Writers, agents, and wrestlers alike were huddled together in the locker room area as our coach </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff</strong></em><em> was glowing over the success of Superbrawl. We would occasionally catch glimpses of the monitor and could see the fans were genuinely concerned about </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> who still laid motionless on the stage after </em><em><strong>Vader’s</strong></em><em> attack.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”This is ****ing gold right here, guys. Look at that woman right there! She’s crying. Okay, that’s it, someone get the Academy on the phone. There’s their Oscar winner, right there. Piper has some competition, Ric Flair is the greatest actor in Hollywood!!”</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> A couple of guys that we hired earlier in the week to act as EMTs eventually came out and placed </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> on a stretcher. They carried him back to the locker room while </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> and the rest of </em><em><strong>The Horsemen</strong></em><em> who were on stage checking on </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em>followed behind and joined the rest of us in the locker room.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em> removed himself from the stretcher as the entire locker room applauded his performance both against </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> in the final match of the Pay Per View and his selling of </em><em><strong>Vader’s</strong></em><em> attack at the end the show. </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff</strong></em><em> concluded his speech by praising the work of </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em>, </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em>, </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em>, and </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> before reminding everyone that our work was far from complete.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>”Flair and Sting. I hope you guys enjoy your time off and get recharged because we’re going to need you guys at your best for the months to come. For now, everyone, in five weeks we’ll be enjoying the beaches in Honolulu but let’s not forget why we’re there, to show everyone that WCW is the best wrestling company on earth!”</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff</strong></em><em> then spoke to the two men we hired as EMTs and indicated that he had had a chance to see some of their work after </em><em><strong>Owen Hart</strong></em><em>, better known as </em><em><strong>The Calgary Kid</strong></em><em> spoke highly of them. He told the two that there might be a program that he could use them in, but didn’t guarantee anything. He shook both of their hands and told them he would be in touch. I can’t quite remember their names. I just called them EMT 1 and EMT 2. For some reason I’m thinking </em><em><strong>Owen</strong></em><em> introduced them as </em><em><strong>Chris</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Lance</strong></em><em>, though.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ---</p>
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<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="45250" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><strong>Notes & Blurbs from March & April</strong><p> </p><p> <em><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Head to Head</strong></span></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Saturday Night February Week 4 - 6,763 in attendance with a 2.51 television rating (~1.8mil viewers) | WWF Superstars February Week 4 - 9,979 in attendance with a 4.66 television rating (~3.5mil viewers)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Saturday Night March Week 1 - 4,900 in attendance with a 2.54 television rating (~1.9mil viewers) | WWF Superstars March Week 1 - 7,401 in attendance with a 4.67 television rating (~3.5mil viewers)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Saturday Night March Week 2 - 10,000 in attendance (sold out) with a 2.62 television rating (~1.9mil viewers) | WWF Superstars March Week 2 - 7,284 in attendance with a 4.75 television rating (~3.5mil viewers)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Saturday Night March Week 3 - 9,161 in attendance with a 2.52 television rating (~1.8mil viewers) | WWF Superstars March Week 3 - 8,832 in attendance with a 4.6 television rating (~3.4mil viewers)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Saturday Night March Week 4 - 5,950 in attendance with a 2.65 television rating (~1.9mil viewers) | WWF Superstars March Week 4 - 14,077 in attendance with a 4.72 television rating (~3.5mil viewers)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Saturday Night April Week 1 - 16,364 in attendance with a 2.59 television rating (~1.9mil viewers) | WWF Superstars April Week 1 - 20,049 in attendance (sold out) with a 4.82 television rating (~3.6mil viewers)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Saturday Night April Week 2 - 9,300 in attendance (sold out) with a 2.54 television rating (~1.9mil viewers) | WWF Superstars April Week 2 - 9,181 in attendance with a 4.82 television rating (~3.6mil viewers)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Saturday Night April Week 3 - 7,000 in attendance (sold out) with a 2.65 television rating (~1.9mil viewers) | WWF Superstars April Week 3 - 8,975 in attendance with a 4.71 television rating (~3.5mil viewers)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WCW Superbrawl April Week 3 - 34,000 in attendance with a .37 PPV buyrate (188,575 buys) | WWF Wrestlemania VII March Week 4 - 42,000 in attendance with a .51 PPV buyrate (256,425 buys)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Planning for Superbrawl</strong></span></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> As stated before, the execution of Superbrawl couldn’t have gone any smoother. Of course, in the weeks leading up to the show, we originally wanted </em><em><strong>Doom’s</strong></em><em> first title defense against </em><em><strong>Dynamite Dream Team</strong></em><em> to be at the Pay Per View with the rematch happening a couple of weeks later on WCW Saturday Night, but the general consensus is the switch of plans worked better in our favor.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> We did toy with the idea of having </em><em><strong>Rick Rude</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Paul Orndorff</strong></em><em> wrestle on the show, but it was never serious talk. The plan was always for the two to interact with each other through a segment so that the two would be in conflict with one another without having to wrestle a match so immediately into starting the program. Hawaii seems like the destination for their first encounter at the moment.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> There were apparently some rumblings about </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> not wanting to put over </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> but from what I could tell, I think it was just a rumor. </em><em><strong>Lex</strong></em><em> didn’t at all seemed displeased with the idea when the agents were going over the finish with him and his quality of work was impressive when the bell rang. I really have no idea how this particular rumor started, but I just don’t think it’s true.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Arrivals</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Roddy Piper</strong></em><em> was our biggest signing of the month. Right now, he’s going to be a special guest commentator for our Pay Per View and TBS Clash events leading up to his time off when he starts shooting for Immortal Combat. The current train of thought is he will be utilized as an in-ring talent when he returns and </em><em><strong>Piper</strong></em><em> has already tossed a few ideas out on the names he’d like to work with. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Kevin Steel</strong></em><em> leaving left our plans for </em><em><strong>The Alexandra Yorke Foundation</strong></em><em> unfinished. We wanted to add someone to the group and pick up where we left off. A few names were bounced around and we eventually landed on having </em><em><strong>Dustin Rhodes</strong></em><em> possibly fulfilling that role. In a completely unrelated situation, </em><em><strong>Diamond Dallas Page</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Larry Zbyszko</strong></em><em> recommended that we look into </em><em><strong>Scott Hall’s</strong></em><em> work. </em><em><strong>Bischoff</strong></em><em> was reportedly impressed with his physique and professional conduct and made the decision that </em><em><strong>Hall</strong></em><em> was the guy we were looking for.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Departures</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The company opted out of renewing </em><em><strong>Gordon Solie’s</strong></em><em> contract. The story going around is </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff</strong></em><em> felt like an old-timer like </em><em><strong>Solie</strong></em><em> wouldn’t fit with WCW’s change in direction.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Not at all to my surprise, but </em><em><strong>Ole Anderson</strong></em><em> was removed from his booking duties, as well. I’ve not mentioned him much and that’s because I simply didn’t get along with him. I guess that held true with a lot of the locker room. </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em> didn’t like him, </em><em><strong>Dusty</strong></em><em> didn’t like him, he didn’t get along with </em><em><strong>Tom Zenk</strong></em><em>. I once heard that even </em><em><strong>Eric</strong></em><em> was looking for a way to get rid of him. Didn’t take too long, </em><em><strong>Ole Anderson</strong></em><em> got into some sort of altercation with </em><em><strong>Flair</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Windham</strong></em><em> that eventually led to other locker room leaders breaking things up. Needless to say, </em><em><strong>Bischoff</strong></em><em> used the incident as his chance to fire </em><em><strong>Ole</strong></em><em>. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">The Locker Room</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>The Good</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Pro Wrestling Illustrated named </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em> Pro Wrestler of the Year for 1990. Good job, </em><em><strong>Stinger</strong></em><em>!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Diamond Dallas Page</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Barry Windham</strong></em><em> developed a friendship over their shared hobby of collecting baseball cards.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Seems like </em><em><strong>Windham</strong></em><em> is the most likable guy in the locker room. He and </em><em><strong>Brad Armstrong</strong></em><em> have been hanging around in the locker room and are becoming good friends.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Referee </em><em><strong>Jimmy Jett</strong></em><em> got some laughs from the boys after pulling a prank that was said to be hilarious</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> During one of our television tapings, </em><em><strong>Sid Vicious</strong></em><em> talked some of the boys into playing Texas Hold’Em and it helped with the locker room environment</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Dusty Rhodes</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Norman the Lunatic</strong></em><em> were in good spirits during a set of television tapings and their cheerful moods spread to the rest of the locker room.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> passed some tips on selling to his protege </em><em><strong>Chris Youngblood</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>The Bad</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Steiners</strong></em><em> had some negative things to say about a couple of workers in the locker room. Both </em><em><strong>Scott</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Rick</strong></em><em> made comments about </em><em><strong>Pat Rose</strong></em><em> not belonging in WCW. Then </em><em><strong>Scott</strong></em><em> later stated that both </em><em><strong>Mark Kyle</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>The Italian Stallion</strong></em><em> weren’t connecting with our audience. </em><em><strong>Rick</strong></em><em> added to this by stating that he didn’t think </em><em><strong>Al Green</strong></em><em> connected with our audience either.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Okay, this is really weird but </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> is not a fan of </em><em><strong>Mark Youngblood</strong></em><em>. He’s mentoring </em><em><strong>Mark’s</strong></em><em> brother. </em><em><strong>Chris</strong></em><em> hasn’t said a word about any of the criticisms that </em><em><strong>Ric</strong></em><em> has levied at </em><em><strong>Mark</strong></em><em>. Explain that one to me…</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> has requested that we not put him in the ring with </em><em><strong>Big Cat</strong></em><em> until </em><em><strong>Big Cat</strong></em><em> learns how to work more safely.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Butch Reed</strong></em><em> doesn’t think </em><em><strong>Ranger Ross</strong></em><em> has the “it” factor. </em><em><strong>Kevin Sullivan</strong></em><em> also joined </em><em><strong>Reed</strong></em><em> in agreement.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Rick Rude</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Mike Graham</strong></em><em> voiced some concerns on </em><em><strong>Steve Austin</strong></em><em>. </em><em><strong>Rude</strong></em><em> isn’t a fan of </em><em><strong>Austin’s</strong></em><em> selling while </em><em><strong>Mike Graham</strong></em><em> thinks he’s too clumsy.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Arn Anderson</strong></em><em> had to hold two wrestler’s court at different points in April. </em><em><strong>Rick Steiner</strong></em><em> was tried for being the locker room grouch. </em><em><strong>Arn</strong></em><em> ruled that </em><em><strong>Rick</strong></em><em> needed to shut up and cheer up. </em><em><strong>Rick</strong></em><em> seemed to handle the incident very lightly and even went drinking with </em><em><strong>Arn</strong></em><em> and some of the boys after the show.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Meanwhile, </em><em><strong>Chris Youngblood</strong></em><em> was eating food in the locker room and had made a mess, leaving his food container out while also leaving several noticeable crumbs around everyone’s gym bags. As a result, </em><em><strong>Arn</strong></em><em> ruled that </em><em><strong>Youngblood</strong></em><em> needed to clean up the locker rooms of any venue we were booked in for the remainder of the April tapings.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Teddy Long’s</strong></em><em> attitude and mishaps are getting him in a lot of trouble with people in the company. He was late to a Main Event taping but wasn’t fined since he wasn’t needed. He must have felt untouchable at that point because a few days later, he wrecked </em><em><strong>The Minotaur’s</strong></em><em> rental car and didn’t seem to care. </em><em><strong>Eric Bischoff</strong></em><em> fined him for the incident and from what I heard, </em><em><strong>Long</strong></em><em> was not happy about it, telling a few people in the locker room that he was getting the hell out of WCW. </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> was not a fan of </em><em><strong>Long’s</strong></em><em> behavior, but apparently </em><em><strong>Long</strong></em><em> doesn’t fear the big man and said as much during a meeting before television tapings. </em><em><strong>Eric</strong></em><em> is keeping a close eye on him but for the time being, he’s going to keep </em><em>[/b]</em><em>Long</em><em>[/b]</em><em> on WCW television.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> We had to fine </em><em><strong>Paul Orndorff</strong></em><em> after he failed to show up to a road agent meeting, but </em><em><strong>Orndorff</strong></em><em> took the incident real well and apologized for not making himself available to the company.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Tom Zenk</strong></em><em> of all people was talked to by management after he pulled a prank on </em><em><strong>The Italian Stallion</strong></em><em> that went over so poorly, that it almost resulted in a fight breaking out between the two. </em><em><strong>Zenk</strong></em><em> apologized to </em><em><strong>Stallion</strong></em><em> and it seems like it’s water under the bridge now.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Rick Rude</strong></em><em> has become a locker room pariah of late after pulling a bad rib on the locker room. While not in trouble with anyone in management, </em><em><strong>Rude</strong></em><em> has kept a low profile with the boys.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Lt. James Earl Wright</strong></em><em> is out of action with a C4 Cervical Spinal Cord Compression. He’s reportedly out of action for at least ten months and even then, we’re not sure what kind of condition he’ll be in when he returns. My thoughts and prayers are with him. I hope he comes back kicking ass.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Enemy Territory</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> WWF’s biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania VII, took place at the end of March. Knowing that our second Pay Per View of the year, Superbrawl, was going to happen a month after Wrestlemania meant that we all were paying attention to WWF just so we’d know what things we needed to do to put on a stronger show.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Wrestlemania VII was by all means a commercial and critical success, but with Superbrawl now behind us, we had some takeaways. First, their biggest show of the year did an impressive 42,000. Superbrawl, which is by no means our flagship event nor does it have the name value of a Wrestlemania, was only 8,000 tickets behind it in terms of total attendance. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Secondly, our two World Championship projects are working differently for us. While the initial idea of putting the WWF Championship on </em><em><strong>Ted DiBiase</strong></em><em> seemed intriguing, the execution has left something to be desired. His first title defense was against </em><em><strong>Jim Duggan</strong></em><em> who has no where near the name value of a </em><em><strong>Hogan</strong></em><em>, </em><em><strong>Warrior</strong></em><em>, or </em><em><strong>Savage</strong></em><em>. His second defense, and Wrestlemania headliner, against </em><em><strong>The Ultimate Warrior</strong></em><em> also wasn’t as well received as their first match from The Royal Rumble.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> meanwhile only seems to be increasing in momentum since WrestleWar. He’s everything you could want in a worker as far as I can tell. The more knowledgeable wrestling fans enjoy him because he’s very talented in the ring and has credentials from Japan and Germany to back that up. Secondly, his size, demeanor, and overall presence makes him appealing to the casual audience. Not only that, but he and </em><em><strong>Lex Luger</strong></em><em> were able to pull their weight on a Pay Per View that was headlined by a final encounter between </em><em><strong>Ric Flair</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Sting</strong></em><em>. The </em><em><strong>Vader</strong></em><em> project was working in ways the </em><em><strong>Ted DiBiase</strong></em><em> project was not.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Also, according to polling from pro wrestling publications, namely Wrestling Observer and Pro Wrestling Illustrated, our WCW World Championship is currently viewed as being more prestigious than the WWF Heavyweight Championship. Of course, these are small pockets of very vocal hardcore fans, but I don’t think that’s something that should be taken lightly.</em></p><p> </p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> ---</p>
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