WCW 1992 : A New World of Sport

[SonOfSharknado]

Prediction Grid:

 

The Samoan Swat Team vs The Young Pistols © for the US Tag Team Championships

Van Hammer vs Shane Douglas

Tom Zenk vs Terrence Taylor -Time limit draw!

The Journeymen vs Big and Bigger

Samoan Savage vs Jushin Liger © in a non-title match (Samoan Savage is heavier than the required weight limit.

The Rock N Roll Express vs The Fabulous Freebirds

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Barry Windham

Butch Reed vs Big Van Vader

 

[monrapi3]

The Samoan Swat Team vs The Young Pistols © for the US Tag Team Championships

Van Hammer vs Shane Douglas

Tom Zenk vs Terrence Taylor

The Journeymen vs Big and Bigger

Samoan Savage vs Jushin Liger © in a non-title match (Samoan Savage is heavier than the required weight limit.

The Rock N Roll Express vs The Fabulous Freebirds

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Barry Windham

Butch Reed vs Big Van Vader

[Satyr24]

The Samoan Swat Team vs The Young Pistols © for the US Tag Team Championships

Van Hammer vs Shane Douglas

Tom Zenk vs Terrence Taylor

The Journeymen vs Big and Bigger

Samoan Savage vs Jushin Liger © in a non-title match (Samoan Savage is heavier than the required weight limit.

The Rock N Roll Express vs The Fabulous Freebirds

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Barry Windham

Butch Reed vs Big Van Vader

[Helginho]

The Samoan Swat Team vs The Young Pistols © for the US Tag Team Championships

Van Hammer vs Shane Douglas

Tom Zenk vs Terrence Taylor

The Journeymen vs Big and Bigger

Samoan Savage vs Jushin Liger © in a non-title match (Samoan Savage is heavier than the required weight limit.

The Rock N Roll Express vs The Fabulous Freebirds

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Barry Windham

Butch Reed vs Big Van Vader

[CactusHack]

 

FEBRUARY 92, WEEK 4 : EPISODE 92.04

 

 

 

Our show opens with Harley Race’s voice harkening, “Welcome one and all, to wrestling’s Sabbath.” In the studio set, our analysis panel is surrounded by a sea of neon colours. Paul E Dangerously, Harley Race, and Dusty Rhodes welcome the world to Week Four of the 1992 season, the first week of Round 2. They talk about the gruelling effect of back-to-back competitive weeks of competition and how it’ll be interesting to see how each of the competitors react in their respective matches. Dusty offsets the topic by discussing how many of the WCW competitors also compete in Japan and other parts of the states. A prime example of this is Big Van Vader, who competes for New Japan Wrestling as well as Catch Wrestling Association in Germany. WCW is proud to allow it’s wrestlers to earn a healthy living and compete for gold under the traditions of other nations, while they also carve out a new tradition here in WCW. And while these guys may be wrestling intense matches two weeks in a row, WCW is also proud to provide paid weeks off for its competitors as they train for their upcoming bouts. Each discussion of back-to-back bouts should be accompanied by discussion of healthy rest-and-recovery cycles allowed to ensure these men have long, prosperous careers. The group go on to discuss how it’s only been one round, and yet you have so many permutations of wrestler records creating unique dynamics as the competitors face off in their second matches of their campaigns.

 

Lance Russell introduces our officiating staff for tonight, Bill Alfonso, Jimmy Jett and senior official Nick Patrick. The officials staff are preparing for their matches tonight. Alfonso is talking obnoxiously to his peers, and it appears that Jett and Patrick are annoyed by him.

 

In our opening contest, The Samoan Savage boasts an 8 inch height advantage and a distinct weight advantage as well. Liger meanwhile is looking to rebound from a 20 minute draw against Jerry Lawler last week. Everyone expected Liger to be slow and cautious and pace this match, especially his opponent, but instead Liger took the fight to Savage like a shotgun blast, showing right off the bat that he was willing to do anything, by sending Savage to the floor and then launching himself over the top rope and crashing onto Savage. Savage eventually gets the upper hand by whipping Liger into the railing. Savage then takes to the sky himself by climbing to the top rope and hitting a massive crossbody to the floor outside.Nick Patrick has his work cut out for him here! Liger regroups to his student, Ultimo Dragon, on the floor. They regroup in the ring and trade high impact moves, and the fans are loving it! It’s back and forth until Liger hits his rolling Abisegeri kick, which stuns Savage, putting his guard down for a massive Shotei strike. Liger climbs up high and hits a shooting star press for the massive win. Schiavone is screaming he needs a cigarette after that! Jushin Liger (1-0-1) def. Samoan Savage (0-1-1) in 15:20

 

Our second contest is Terrence Taylor against Tom Zenk. The Z Man is looking to start the season off 2 and 0, while Terrence Taylor is looking to rebound from a Round 1 loss. Taylor has been recruited by Teddy Long, and they are also accompanied by Long’s fellow new recruit Bam Bam Bigelow. JR mentions how on Main Event, a press conference was held where Long announced the development of The Longballer Academy. Taylor and Bigelow are great athletes who under the right tutelage, can achieve great glory. This match is a technical display of one-upmanship with both men trading hold after hold in a much slower paced match than what was just witnessed between Savage and Liger. Pillman is Zenk’s corner, and is constantly shown at odds with Long and Bigelow. Eventually, Zenk is distracted by the outside noise and Taylor is able to capitalize with a cheap shot to the back of the knee and a knee bar that he has no choice to tap out to. Terrence Taylor (1-1-0) def. Tom Zenk (1-1-0) in 16:42

 

 

Magnum TA runs through the results from last night’s Main Event action, which saw Van Hammer upset Shane Doulgas and The Young Pistols defeated the Samoan Swat Team. In additional exhibitions, Greg Valentine defeated Al Green, while in trios competition, Tito Santana teamed with Mike Rapada and Blue Panther to defeat The Great Kabuki, Buddy Lee Parker and Tony Anthony. In addition, Kamala was featured in an exhibition where he defeated PN News ahead of his contest with One Man Gang at Superbrawl. However, during the match he tweak his knee and has been removed from the pay per view. In his place, WCW has replaced him with Cowboy Bob Orton. Also featured was a spotlight piece on young up-and-comer Scotty Flamingo who has been training with Jerry Lawler.

 

We get the card reveal for next week’s Premier league contests, the second week of ROUND 2. Magnum walks us through the following matches: Ron Simmons versus Lex Luger, Kevin Sullivan versus One Man Gang, and Nikita Koloff versus Sting. The loaded card could go many ways, as depending on the outcome of Koloff versus Luger at SuperBrawl, Luger could be defending the World Title against Simmons, or Koloff could be defending against Sting. Of course, a big story going into next week will be whether there are any developments on the openly discussed ongoing contract negotiations with the current champion, as we are just a month away from potentially having the WCW world champion walking out with the gold. And the Main Event of Main Event will be Jerry Lawler versus Brian Pillman in a huge Division 2 match.

 

Continuing with the first intermission is Race to 180 with Harley Race, Harley sits down with the Television Champion, Steve Austin. Austin talks about being excited to defend his gold against all comers, and hypes his round 2 match against the relatively unknown Japanese star, Nobuhiko Takada. Dangerously is with Austin, and strokes his ego further, downplaying Takada’s threat. Harley warns them both not to under-estimate Takada, as he shocked many with his strong victory over Von Erich, displaying amazing conditioning.

 

The third contest of the night is a war of legendary tag teams, as the Freebirds take on the Rock N Roll Express in tag team division action, both teams looking to avoid going 0-2 to start their campaigns. The Express are backed by Alexandra York, and in the Freebirds corner, we see Austin Idol. Schiavone wonders about what connection Idol and the Freebirds could have, beyond all men just being pompous assholes? This is solid all around, as it’s two teams how know exactly what they want to do and how to keep the crowd engaged. Both teams are heels here, and both teams consistently manipulating the rules and toying with referee Bill Alfonso, trying to convince him of never-before heard rules that the other team’s broken. The Freebirds are better heels, and it leads to a comical stretch of heel-oneupmanship that the Freebirds keep getting the better of the exchanges. Miss York, in the corner of the RnR express, gets frustrated and starts to get involved, which after a sequence of further rule bending, ends in Gibson spiking Garvin with one of York’s high heels. Fun, but a bit over-drawn for the talent involved. Rock N Roll Express (1-1-0) def. The Fabulous Freebirds (0-2-0) in 18:07

 

Next up is The Journeymen facing off against the team of El Gigante and Big Josh. The larger team was extremely impressive in their debut, while The Journeymen looked good, but Al Snow has a long way to go. Before the match kicked off, Adams coached Snow on the game plan making it clear that the focus was to keep Big Josh in the ring, and avoid El Gigante at all costs. Snow and Adams isolate Big Josh for the early going and do a great job of cutting the big man down to size. Snow is looking for approval on most things he does, and Adams keeps giving him positive reinforcement. They keep building up to a hot tag to El Gigante, without positioning The Journeymen as heels at all. It’s good, clean, old fashion wrestling, if a little bit paint-by-numbers. Eventually, Big Josh makes it to his corner and gets the big tag to El Gigante, who comes in as a house of fire. His offence is not so great, but the crowd is behind him. He beats down both members of the Journeymen, throwing clothesline after clothesline. Al Snow goes bizarre on the apron, which successfully distracts Gigante long enough for Adams to regain momentum. Gigante has to tag out and Adams tags in Snow, who comes in hot only to eat a spine buster and get pinned. Big and Bigger (2-0-0) def. The Journeyman (0-2-0)) in 12:38.

 

 

 

It’s time, for Inside the Squared Circle, with Ventura and Magnum. Magnum wants to talk about the tag team techniques that have been on display, but Ventura steamrolls Magnum completely saying he wants to talk about something else tonight. He wants to talk about the amazing display from Jushin Liger earlier tonight. That kid busted out moves he’s never seen before and went balls to the wall for 15 minutes before getting the win, just one week after a 20 minute bar-room brawl with Jerry Lawler. This is after weeks of talking about concern over other wrestler’s conditioning. Jushin Liger is exactly the kind of wrestler that can succeed long term here, and his style is exciting, fresh and he’s not affected by the longer matches. Ventura talks about how just two weeks ago, we were discussing the concerns of One Man Gang barely lasting 10 minutes against Nikita Koloff, someone he’s got a large size advantage from, and here we are watching Liger go full tilt for 15 minutes against a guy that’s got 8 inches on him. The crowd went berserk for the kid and he leaves tonight with a win. Magnum urges all the kids at home to focus on conditioning and training, if they want to end up a huge name like Jushin Liger is bound to become. Magnum tries to say that Ventura isn’t doing Gang justice and that there is a difference between heavyweights battling in the Elite Division and Div 2 action. Ventura says there isn’t a difference, athletes need to treat every match as important, as every match matters to winning the season.

 

A promo package is shown for Super Brawl. The analysts break down the card and discuss how these matches are outside of the regular season booking and do not count towards there season records. Instead, these are special attraction matches that you will not see anywhere else, outside the regular season ruleset. Dusty talks about the SuperBrawl Battle Royal, an open 25 man battle royal with a massive pay bonus to the victor.

 

The first of our co-main events tonight features two heavyweights in a rough, hard hitting brawl. Butch Reed takes the fight right to Vader and surprisingly knocks him off his feet early on. Butch Reed hits a scoop slam and is looking like a beast, but Vader bounces right back to his feet and charges at Reed. Vader beats on Reed for a while, before Reed charges up and returns Vader to the floor with a series of shoulder blocks. The action spills to the floor, where they brawl around the ringside area. This descends into a fighting spirit display, as they trade hammering chops to each other until both collapse. They get back to their feet slowly, when Vader sprints and charges Reed in the corner, knocking the wind out of him. Vader then goes up top and hits a ****ing moonsault for the win. JR loses his marbles as the mastodon just flew from the sky. Big Van Vader (2-0-0) def. Butch Reed (1-1-0) in 12:41

 

It’s time for the main event of the evening. Schiavone tries to gush about Windham’s gutsy performance last week, but it’s overshadowed by JR marking out like a school girl over Vader’s moonsault from earlier. Bam Bam has Teddy Long in his corner, and Dustin Rhodes is in Barry’s. Bam Bam attacks during the announcements and gets off to the races in beating down Barry. Bam Bam crushes Barry with a series of splashes and referee Nick Patrick restrains Bam Bam to see if Barry can even continue. Barry gets up in the corner and says he’s okay, but Bam Bam crushes him again with a huge avalanche splash. Barry spills to the ringside floor, but Bam Bam doesn’t let up, smashing him on everything at ringside. Barry gets busted open, and rages at the sight of his own blood. He gets back into the ring and takes the fight to Bam Bam, suplexing him with ease! Barry with a series of German suplexes and then he’s playing to the crowd is red hot for him, even though he’s been a bit sloppy tonight. He sets up for the Bulldog, but Bam Bam powers out of it and then shockingly hits an enziguiri! Bigelow gets heat as he plays to the crowd, signalling for a power bomb. But Barry rolls straight through and pins him by surprise for the huge victory! After the match, a blood soaked Barry Windham plays to a very receptive crowd. Barry Windham (1-1-0) defeated Bam Bam Bigelow (0-2-0) in 15:09.

 

 

Jesse Ventura announces we are out of time for this week, but before we go he announces this weeks three stars:

3. Bam Bam Bigelow

2. Jushin Liger

1. Vader (wins $10,000 wrestler of the night bonus)

 

Back at the broadcast panel, the team recaps the nights events, showing replays and providing analysis of the night that was. Heyman signs off with his touted quote, “It’s Saturday night, folks - Stay Dangerous!”

 

[CactusHack]

]

March Week 1, 1992 - 9:00 AM - The Dust Has Settled

In the boardroom, Paul Heyman, Eric Bischoff, Jim Ross, Dusty Rhodes and Kip Frey are all ecstatic about the ratings news. They were able not only to maintain the viewership levels of the premier of the season, but grow on them. The approach was succeeding, albeit the profitability of the approach was currently in question as it was becoming apparent that they still required a successful PPV event for them to operate at a profit. Superbrawl wasn’t exactly a hyped card and they still had one large and looming problem to discuss in the unclear waters of Lex Luger’s contract situation.

 

Jim Ross

 

“I’m not sure, is all. The guy’s happy again and we’ve had very open ended conversations regarding him staying. He’s thrilled about the change to our show and no longer is looking to actively leave. But the problem is, he’s already made contact with other promotions and discussions we’re already in place. We’re on the verge of a bidding war, and it’s not just against the WWF I’m afraid. The Japanese want him, too.”

 

Dusty Rhodes

 

“What do the Japanethe want him for? Luger isn’t over over there and the only show he’s ever been on was this past Supershow where he had an average match againtht Chono? I don’t think they’d be beaming for him?”

 

Jim Ross

 

“I can’t say for sure, he might just be blowing smoke to make more money, but the issue stands that he holds our top title and we’re in a bad spot after we lost Flair while he was champ last year - it’s going to look downright pathetic if the first two champions of this belt walk on us.”

 

Paul Heyman

 

“Can’t we just take the belt off of him and play it safe? We could hot-shot it to Steamboat, Vader or Sting - they are all former world champions, we don’t need to do any build to them? Have Luger drop the belt, lose his current negotiating power, and then let him decide? Obviously we don’t want to lose him, but at some point we are going to have to accept reality and ensure we don’t damage our show.”

 

Kip Frey

 

“Paul, he doesn’t compete against Steamboat, Vader or Sting any time soon. His next two league matches are against Ron Simmons and Tully Blanchard. He faces Steamboat after that, but that’s a good 2 months away, well after his contract would expire.”

 

Paul Heyman

 

“For f*cks sake, it’s a fake wrestling show Kip, can’t we change the schedule? Maybe plan a spontaneous title defence mid show to shake the mould and get it off of him?”

 

Kip Frey

 

“No - that would disrupt the integrity of what we are doing here. We are presenting an authentic sports broadcast, held to the same standard of any other sporting organization. We will continue to do so, even if it doesn’t benefit our contract situations. If a wrestler walks, a wrestler walks. You guys are all focused on the title belt, but in the past week, no one has brought up the more pressing issue. If a guy leaves - what do you think happens to the season format? What happens to their schedule? I have been more than pleased with the work we have all put in so far, we have made a massive overhaul to our structure and have all created positive situations for the company, but it’s all been for setting the stage. Our stage is set now, we’ve removed our problems and defined our approach. Now, it’s time for this to be about maintenance, ensuring the system we have created has checks and balances. So today we are going to identify gaps. Our first known gap is our road agent situation. Ole left on good terms, but he left a hole none-the-less. I have addressed that by appointing Harley Race, and retitling the position as Head Coach to continue the sport’s approach. Agent sounds too… Broadway.”

 

Harley Race enters the room to applause and everyone congratulates him on the new role. He thanks everyone and is glad to be a part of this in a capacity he can grow the wrestlers.

 

Kip Frey

 

“It is Harley’s responsibility that the wrestling on our show meets a certain level of authenticity and quality, while affording for panache and stylistic differences to our wrestling team. He is to assemble and develop a team of agents within our locker-room, to ensure that our matches feel unique and diverse. He will work with our team here to convey this team’s decisions on match out-comes to our wrestlers.

 

From there, it’s the responsibility of Dusty, Heyman, Ross and Bischoff to decide the winners going forward. I will liaison with this team on big picture decisions and provide guidance on the evolution of our production and top level staffing. The ground work has been laid, fellas. Now, I must continue my obligations to TBS. I’ll be present two days a week here for touch-point meetings with each of you, as well as on hand for our broadcasts. This is your ship.”

 

Paul Heyman

 

“Wait, so you are saying we are in charge, but we aren’t allowed to go off script and need to choose between Koloff, Simmons and Blanchard as our champion immediately? None of those guys are anywhere near ready to be champion. This is creative handcuffing, we need to have flexibility to change the story to fit our need.”

 

Kip Frey

 

“No, we do not. We need structure to define our approaches and it’s up to us to be creative within that structure to further the show. I won’t hear another word about this. Perhaps Eric can come up with a solution, he’s displayed nothing but intuition and willingness to co-operate and create within the structure. Look at our set, and the graphics - it’s all next level compared to everything else on the market. By the way Eric, good job on the updates, they were small but notable improvements. Can you debrief us on the imagery protocol that you’ve developed?”

 

Eric proceeds to hand out dossiers and begin to explain the process that the production team will be maintaining going forward. He is full of energy and life, and Paul stares daggers into him. The storm of change in WCW has officially subsided, but a new war has begun to present itself.

 

 

 

 

 

SUPERBRAWL CARD

 

Prediction Grid:

 

Superbrawl 92 (Take a wild guess - 3 bonus points for accurate answer, 1 bonus point for picking someone who ends in final 4, and an incorrect answer is not reflected on your overall tally)

Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons & Shane Douglas vs The Dangerous Alliance

Cactus Jack & Vader vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

One Man Gang vs Bob Orton

Sting & Keiji Mutoh vs Masa Chono & ???

Lex Luger © vs Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Rick Rude © vs Ricky Steamboat for the WCW US Championship in a ‘Must Be A Winner’ Match.

 

 

::: Prediction Contest Leaderboard :::

 

monrapi3 : 11/32 35%

Egoshiha : 4/8 50%

Blodyxe : 4/8 50%

Helginho : 12/24 50%

Satyr24 : 16/32 50%

Smasher1311 : 9/16 57%

ElectricX : 18/32 57%

Lord Byron : 18/32 57%

Jaysin : 5/8 63%

smw88 : 20/32 63%

DHK1989 : 22/32 69%

chasep197 : 17/24 71%

SonOfSharknado : 23/32 72%

Dalton : 6/8 75%

[SonOfSharknado]

Superbrawl 92 (Nobuhiko Takada?)

Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons & Shane Douglas vs The Dangerous Alliance

Cactus Jack & Vader vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

One Man Gang vs Bob Orton

Sting & Keiji Mutoh vs Masa Chono & ???

Lex Luger © vs Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Rick Rude © vs Ricky Steamboat for the WCW US Championship in a ‘Must Be A Winner’ Match.

[Satyr24]

Superbrawl 92 Vader

Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons & Shane Douglas vs The Dangerous Alliance

Cactus Jack & Vader vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

One Man Gang vs Bob Orton

Sting & Keiji Mutoh vs Masa Chono & ???

Lex Luger © vs Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Rick Rude © vs Ricky Steamboat for the WCW US Championship in a ‘Must Be A Winner’ Match.

[chasep197]

Superbrawl 92 Jushin Liger

Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons & Shane Douglas vs The Dangerous Alliance

Cactus Jack & Vader vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

One Man Gang vs Bob Orton

Sting & Keiji Mutoh vs Masa Chono & ???

Lex Luger © vs Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Rick Rude © vs Ricky Steamboat for the WCW US Championship in a ‘Must Be A Winner’ Match

[DHK1989]

Superbrawl 92 Bam Bam Bigelow

Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons & Shane Douglas vs The Dangerous Alliance

Cactus Jack & Vader vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

One Man Gang vs Bob Orton

Sting & Keiji Mutoh vs Masa Chono & ???

Lex Luger © vs Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Rick Rude © vs Ricky Steamboat for the WCW US Championship in a ‘Must Be A Winner’ Match.

[Lord Byron]

My picks: Vader to win Superbrawl 92, The Dangerous Alliance, Cactus Jack and Vader, One Man Gang, Sting and Keiji Mutoh, Lex Luger ©, and Rick Rude ©...

[Hashasheen]

I mean, I'd belt up Ron Simmons ASAP. Florida guy like Luger, great sports pedigree, good representative for WCW going forward, could be the first guy that Kip 'makes' as part of his new production model.

[SonOfSharknado]

Count me in also for Simmons with the strap. It's better than what happened in real life where Harley and Luger were flat-out racist and Ron still lost, and then Ron only won the belt from Vader so Bill Watts could prove how not-racist he was.

[monrapi3]

Superbrawl '92 - Vader

Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons & Shane Douglas vs The Dangerous Alliance

Cactus Jack & Vader vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

One Man Gang vs Bob Orton

Sting & Keiji Mutoh vs Masa Chono & ???

Lex Luger © vs Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Rick Rude © vs Ricky Steamboat for the WCW US Championship in a ‘Must Be A Winner’ Match.

[Blodyxe]

Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons & Shane Douglas vs The Dangerous Alliance

Cactus Jack & Vader vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

One Man Gang vs Bob Orton

Sting & Keiji Mutoh vs Masa Chono & ???

Lex Luger © vs Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Rick Rude © vs Ricky Steamboat for the WCW US Championship in a ‘Must Be A Winner’ Match.

[Helginho]

Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons & Shane Douglas vs The Dangerous Alliance

Cactus Jack & Vader vs Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

One Man Gang vs Bob Orton

Sting & Keiji Mutoh vs Masa Chono & ???

Lex Luger © vs Nikita Koloff for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

Rick Rude © vs Ricky Steamboat for the WCW US Championship in a ‘Must Be A Winner’ Match.

[CactusHack]

 

 

WCW SUPERBRAWL 92

 

 

 

Live shots of the live audience are displayed as pyro explodes and the crowd is cheering for the start of WCW Superbrawl 1992. Inside the studio set, our analysis panel is surrounded by a sea of orange and blue to match the pay per view theme colours. Paul E Dangerously, Harley Race, and Dusty Rhodes are joined by Magnum TA, Jesse Ventura and Eric Bischoff for tonight, and the collective all welcome the world to WCW Superbrawl! They talk about the star studded line-up on display tonight, and are excited to present specialty match types not seen during the regular season. While these matches do not reflect the season rankings and official records, there are championship’s on the line and huge bonuses being fought for. The analysis team talks up the main events, as well as Lex Luger’s contract situation with WCW. Everyone outside of Dusty believes that Nikita Koloff will be leaving tonight as the New WCW champion as everyone thinks that Luger is too focused elsewhere, and his last match was a good indication of what Luger is currently capable of. Dusty Rhodes announces that in the second massive match up, Jerry Lawler has signed to team up with Masa Chono.

 

Lance Russell introduces our officiating staff. All referees are present and on hand for tonight’s matches. Nick Patrick and Randy Anderson lead the charge tonight for the team, and the team is ready to rock.

 

The action in the ring begins with Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes teaming up to face Vader and Cactus Jack. The commentary team talk about how much the crowd loves Barry Windham, and how great of a start Big Van Vader is off to. This was bowling shoe ugly right from the get go, as all four men brawled hard, there was nothing technical about this one. Big Van Vader was imposing throughout the contest and dominated once again, while Cactus Jack took dangerous spills right off the bat. Jack and Windham both spilt blood early in this one, as they battered each other at ringside. The match is pure chaos and the referee is letting the action be loose, as JR comments that the officials need to step in and stop this, as a serious injury to any of these guys could seriously damage the regular season schedule. Vader and Windham spilled into the crowd and left Dustin and Jack alone in the ring where Jack took control. Meanwhile, Vader was shoved off of a barricade and through a table! Barry makes his way back to ringside, collects the hot tag and runs through Cactus Jack for the victory. Dustin and Barry celebrate, while Vader gets back to his feet and refuses medical support in the crowd. Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes def. Vader and Cactus Jack when Barry pins Jack in 12:49

 

Out comes Bob Orton, the replacement for Kamala tonight. Schiavone mentions that Kamala and Orton are two completely different types of wrestlers, and it’ll be interesting to see how Gang reacts and changes him game-plan. This apparently didn’t matter at all, as Gang came out very serious and proceeded to demolish Orton in short order. This was never close, and JR commented that it seems that if Gang can’t last 20 minutes, maybe his strategy will be to come out hot and earn quick victories. Gang hits a Gordbuster for the win and immediately leaves to the back. This fell really flat and didn’t do OMG any favours. One Man Gang def. Cowboy Bob Orton in 4:52.

 

Out next are the Dangerous Alliance, to face off against the make shift team of the Killer Bees, Kevin Von Erich, Ron Simmons and Shane Douglas. Ron Simmons gets lots of time to shine in this one, as JR puts over his potential golden opportunity to save WCW from catastrophe if Luger decides to walk out as champion. Simmons could become a hero over night by claiming the belt off of him and not letting him walk. This is fast paced, with frequent tags and everyone getting spots to shine. It’s noted that the entire Dangerous Alliance have the week off this coming week, that all 6 men in the group have their respective matches on Week 6 for round 2. Tully Blanchard and Ron Simmons have an epic stare-down as everyone else has been sent to the floor, over the next three weeks, both of these two men may have a shot at winning WCW gold. They don’t get to fight (nor do they trade shots at all over the course of the entire match) as the alliance members attack Powerhouse Simmons from behind. The action remains hot and ends with Arn Anderson and Tully hitting Shane Douglas with the spike piledriver and Anderson collecting the pin. Blanchard, Zbyszko, Anderson, Austin and Eaton def. Killer Bees, Shane Douglas, Kevin Von Erich and Ron Simmons in 15:47

 

It’s time, for the 1992 Superbrawl! 25 men enter the ring, and only one will walk out with the win, the cash bonus, and the Superbrawler Trophy. The competitors are as follows: Abdullah, Austin Idol, Bam Bam, Big Josh, Pillman, Reed, Adams, Severn, Gigante, Fatu, Haku, Garvin, Sullivan, Hayes, Morton, Rick Steiner, Gibson, Samoan Savage, Samu, Scott Steiner, Stan Lane, Steve Armstrong, Taylor, Studd and Smothers. This is a clusterf*ck right off the bat as there is nothing special on display. Butch Reed looks especially strong in the early going, eliminating Steve Armstrong, Stan Lane, Chris Adams and Samu while showing off a welt on his face that he collected last night against Big Van Vader. Terrence Taylor and Bam Bam Bigelow are working together as Teddy Long directs them at ringside. Not present tonight is Long’s third client, Nobuhiko Takada. Abdullah and El Gigante have a colossal showdown in the ring for a quick monster pop, and Gigante gets the better of the exchange, tossing Abdullah to the floor before Bam Bam and Taylor double team him out as well. The Rock N Roll Express get a measure of revenge on the Steiner’s by eliminating Rick, but then the Freebirds get revenge on them by each Freebird eliminating Gibson and Morton. Dan Severn gets a spot to shine where he eliminates Samoan Savage and Fatu. Haku chucks Idol while Scott Steiner eliminates Smothers. Diamond Studd eliminates Jimmy Jam Garvin, before Pillman surprise eliminates the Studd! Bam Bam sends Big Josh over the ropes. Sullivan has been ducking combat all match and finally Dan Severn gets his hands on him, but Sullivan pokes him in the eye and bundles him out of the ring. Scott Steiner eliminates Michael Hayes. Sullivan runs into more trouble with Haku, but a swift kick to the junk and Sullivan eliminates Haku as well! His luck runs out though when he turns into Butch Reed, who murders him with a lariat and then press slams him to the floor. Pillman tries to sneak an elimination of Butch Reed, but Reed stuffs him and then Terrence Taylor bundles out Pillman. We are down to the final four, Bam Bam Bigelow, Butch Reed, Terrence Taylor and Scott Steiner. It’s a three on one start on Steiner, until Bam Bam takes advantage of a distracted Butch Reed and tosses him over the top rope! Steiner then evens the score with a series of german suplexes to Bam Bam and Terry, before suplexing Taylor right over the ropes! It’s down to Scott and Bam Bam! Scott plays the face in peril, skinning the cat twice and almost upsetting Bam Bam, but a distraction from Teddy Long spells the end for Steiner… Bam Bam Bigelow wins in 19:49.

 

The first of our main events tonight is for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship! There is a nuclear level of heat for Lex Luger as the publicly announced potential departure has commentary and fans alike desperate to see him drop the title. Nikita Koloff however doesn’t have much heat on him yet as his return to WCW is still fresh and coupled with many other returns and debuts. This match is 100% Luger f**king with the crowd. He attempts to get himself deliberately counted out early on, pissing off Koloff who chases him for a bit. Luger finally gets caught and Koloff gets an insane near fall nearly 3 minutes into the match! Luger gets frustrated and goes on the offensive, pounding on Koloff and then poses to the crowd. He repeats this cycle a couple of times before Koloff fires up and murders Luger with a stump piledriver! Luger is reeling and Koloff aims for the Russian Sickle, but Luger pulls the referee in the way and they both go down. No ref to count the fall, and Koloff is furious. Luger rolls out of the ring to collect himself. Koloff chases after him and his clocked with a folding chair at ringside. They brawl up the ramp and then finally the ref gets back to his feet. Koloff is on spaghetti legs after the chair shot and Luger takes advantage by whipping him into the set pieces before running back to the ring and allowing Koloff to be counted out. Luger retains to more nuclear heat. Lex Luger retained against Nikita Koloff in 12:16

 

Lawler comes out to a chorus of boos, but his partner Masa Chono gets a very warm response. He’s been working as a heel in NJPW, but being the last protege of a recently deceased legend will only get you love. Meanwhile, Sting enters with Keiji Mutoh, and the announce team comments on their previous contest teaming together, the WCW/NJPW Jan 4th Supershow held at the Tokyo Dome, where the duo teamed up to defeat the Steiner Bros in the main event of the evening. All four men play up the crowd and JR and Schiavone discuss the beautiful sister company relationship between WCW and NJPW that allows for incredible fantasy matches like this one being presented to the audience tonight. Chono carries most of the action for his team, as Lawler plays up a pulled hammy, and avoids getting tagged in. Mutoh fights both men for about 14 minutes straight while Lawler is being a dick. Sting and Mutoh work on Chono, who keeps firing back. Sting and Chono have a respectful fighting spirit strike off where neither man backs down and the crowd goes nuts. Chono forces a tag out and Sting lays into Lawler, to a raucous ovation. Sting tags in Mutoh and Mutoh goes high risk with a huge moonsault. Lawler wants to tag out but Chono drops down from the apron and leaves him hanging. Mutoh mists Lawler, then KOs him with a Shining Wizard. Sting comes in and forces the submission with the Scorpion Deathlock. After the match, Chono annihilates Lawler with the Kenka Kick and then shakes hands with Sting. Sting, Chono and Mutoh play respect to Lou Thesz by each taking a turn hitting Lawler with a Powerbomb as JR comments that Thesz innovated the power bomb, and this tribute won’t be forgotten. Sting and Muta def. Lawler and Chino in 17:43.

 

It’s been a wild night of action, and it’s time for the final match of the night, a No-Limit Anything Goes Match. Held inside of a steel cage, there must be a winner. Ricky Steamboat is accompanied by critically acclaimed wrestler current Light Heavyweight Champion Jushin Liger, while Rick Rude has the WCW TV Champion Steve Austin accompanying him. There are formal introductions for this major match and Rick Rude hands over the WCW United States Championship to Referee Nick Patrick. Rude and Steamboat shake hands to start the match and the bell rings as they square off. They grapple with a test of strength, but it’s a stalemate. The go for it again, and this time Steamboat gets pushed to the ropes and taken down by a shoulder block, but then a rapid succession trading of arm drags, clotheslines and dropkicks results in another standoff as the crowd erupts for their athleticism. Finally, a lead is established when Steamboat goes for a running crossbody and it’s dodged by Rude, letting Steamboat crash into the caging. From there, Rude starts to take advantage with the caging and takes the fight hard to Steamboat. Rude wears down Steamboat with some submissions, focusing on the right knee which had crashed particularly hard into the caging earlier. Rude locks in a figure four but Steamboat rages during it and starts taking swings at Rude. Steamboat fires up and breaks free and then starts taking the fight to Rude. This is an all out epic. Steamboat goes up top, but Rude shoves him and his leg gets caught in the caging. Steamboat is dangling upside down and Rude batters him. This one has passed the 20 minute regular time limit and Rude has Steamboat hurt. Rude goes for the Awakening, but Steamboat gets out and fires up again. Steamboat drops Rude and goes up for the Crossbody, but his knee gives out and he takes a tumble. Rude connects with the Rude Awakening, and this one is over. Rude celebrates as the commentary team praises Steamboat’s efforts. Rick Rude def Ricky Steamboat in 24:55.

 

[CactusHack]

 

March Week 1, 1992 - 9:00 AM - The Belt That Matters?

 

Paul Heyman

 

“We gotta pull the trigger on Simmons! It’s been a full week and Luger hasn’t decided one way or another what company he’s going to sign with. I don’t care if he’s playing hardball. We have him drop the title to Simmons, make a star in the process, and kill Luger’s heat and value before he jumps. If he stays, we can rebuild him up with a redemption arc, but I think we need to be proactive here and get the title off of him. If he holds it, Vince will pay through the nose just to make us look bad.”

 

Jim Ross

 

“Now, you gotta let me work on this. I swear, we’re going to keep the kid. We spent two months rebuilding his happiness in the company and convincing him that this company has course corrected it’s ship. Us fixing Luger’s situation and bringing in all these guys that had ill will with Herd is going to make this group a unit that wants to work together. We piss on Luger to save a few bucks and we send the wrong message to the entire locker room.”

 

Dusty Rhodes

 

“Forgive me if I’m out of line here, but I gotta go with what Paulie’s sayin here. He’s right, if you think about it, by keeping the title on Luger we give him all the power and we are at the eleventh hour here. We bend here and not only do we give him all the cards, we are telling all the boys in the back that they can walk all over us. This isn’t just about preserving the credibility of our World Championship, it’s about ensuring that the division of power in this company is understood and maintained, if you will… Eric baby, what’s your verdict? I want to wrap this up and let Harley get this match sorted. It’s going to be a huge deal no matter what we do.”

 

Eric Bischoff

 

*Yawns* “Sorry, long night… I was down in Buckhead Village last night and met up with this sweetheart with a tongue piercing. So I didn’t get much sleep. I don’t get what it matters though? Like, we have this world championship, but it’s second tier to the tournament that we are running. Who cares if we have to vacate it? Besides, our US Title is in the same division and Rude’s killing it as that champion - maybe we can just elevate that title if we have to work with the tired mentality that the title matters. F*ck, let’s vacate the title either way just to be controversial maybe?”

 

Paul Heyman

 

“We have a massive decision to make, and you’re too busy getting loaded and banging some street urchin? What is the matter with you? This isn’t just some throw away decision like silly graphics that you can mess up and Frey will just brush it aside for you. If he was here, I’d bet he fires your ass for your pathetic attitude.”

 

Eric Bischoff

 

“Do whatever you want Paul… I was actually at the LMLW show and I was with Frey. I think we are limited with WCW in what we are presenting and it’s pigeon-holing us in terms of what is important. Could you imagine multiple divisions with major stars rather than everyone fighting to just be the one top dog? If we also had Lugerella on the card as a lady champ for example, would losing Luger be that big of an issue? I think our problems right now are temporary and we need to focus on making the show bigger than the stars…”

 

 

 

AROUND THE WORLD

- WCW Contract Negotiations began for Lex Luger, Jimmy Garvin, Steve Austin, Terry Taylor and Missy Hyatt. Luger was approached by WWF, NJPW, and AJPW.

 

- The following wrestlers have entered the wrestling world: Koji Nakagawa, Brazo de Platino, Juventud Guerrera, Paul Levesque, and JT Lightning.

 

- WWF World Champion Jake Roberts extends his contract with the WWF for 2 years.

 

- Amidst his jail sentence, Blackjack Mulligan has announced his retirement from wrestling.

 

- Masa Saito has announced his retirement from wrestling at age 50. NJPW is said to be upset with the decision, as Saito has been booked strongly so far this year, starting 1992 off with an 8-1 record.

 

- Magnificent Mimi defeated Penelope Paradise to win the LMLW Florida Championship and Leilani Kai defeated Luna Vachon to win the WWoW TV Title at Ladies Major League Wrestling’s Rock City event. Normally, this wouldn’t be seen as newsworthy, but the small promotion has been on the rise in the south east, leading pundits to begin questioning whether the big leagues will ever take women’s wrestling seriously and promote it akin to the men.

 

 

WEEK 92.05 CARD

 

Prediction Grid:

 

The Outsiders vs The American Males

Jerry Lawler vs Brian Pillman

Cactus Jack vs Austin Idol

Kevin Von Erich vs Dustin Rhodes

Shooters Club vs Steiner Bros

Nikita Koloff vs Sting

Kevin Sullivan vs One Man Gang

Ron Simmons vs Lex Luger © for the WCW World Championship

 

 

 

::: Prediction Contest Leaderboard :::

 

monrapi3 : 12/38 32%

Egoshiha : 4/8 50%

Helginho : 16/30 53%

Satyr24 : 20/38 53%

Smasher1311 : 9/16 57%

ElectricX : 18/32 57%

Blodyxe : 8/14 58%

Lord Byron : 23/38 61%

Jaysin : 5/8 63%

smw88 : 20/32 63%

SonOfSharknado : 26/38 68%

chasep197 : 21/30 70%

Dalton : 6/8 75%

DHK1989 : 30/38 79%

[DHK1989]

The Outsiders vs The American Males

Jerry Lawler vs Brian Pillman

Cactus Jack vs Austin Idol

Kevin Von Erich vs Dustin Rhodes

Shooters Club vs Steiner Bros

Nikita Koloff vs Sting

Kevin Sullivan vs One Man Gang

Ron Simmons vs Lex Luger © for the WCW World Championship

[Lord Byron]

My picks: The Outsiders, Brian Pillman, Cactus Jack, Dustin Rhodes, the Steiner Brothers, Sting, Kevin Sullivan, and Lex Luger ©...

[smw88]

The Outsiders vs The American Males

Jerry Lawler vs Brian Pillman

Cactus Jack vs Austin Idol

Kevin Von Erich vs Dustin Rhodes

Shooters Club vs Steiner Bros

Nikita Koloff vs Sting

Kevin Sullivan vs One Man Gang

Ron Simmons vs Lex Luger © for the WCW World Championship

[Dawn]

The Outsiders

Brian Pillman

Cactus Jack

Dustin Rhodes

Steiners

Sting

OMG

Ron Simmons

[monrapi3]

The Outsiders vs The American Males

Jerry Lawler vs Brian Pillman

Cactus Jack vs Austin Idol

Kevin Von Erich vs Dustin Rhodes

Shooters Club vs Steiner Bros

Nikita Koloff vs Sting

Kevin Sullivan vs One Man Gang

Ron Simmons vs Lex Luger © for the WCW World Championship

[Satyr24]

The Outsiders vs The American Males

Jerry Lawler vs Brian Pillman

Cactus Jack vs Austin Idol

Kevin Von Erich vs Dustin Rhodes

Shooters Club vs Steiner Bros

Nikita Koloff vs Sting

Kevin Sullivan vs One Man Gang

Ron Simmons vs Lex Luger © for the WCW World Championship

[Helginho]

The Outsiders vs The American Males

Jerry Lawler vs Brian Pillman

Cactus Jack vs Austin Idol

Kevin Von Erich vs Dustin Rhodes

Shooters Club vs Steiner Bros

Nikita Koloff vs Sting

Kevin Sullivan vs One Man Gang

Ron Simmons vs Lex Luger © for the WCW World Championship