WCW 1993 : A New World of Sport

[CactusHack]

 

Alberta, Canada : December 27th, 1992

In August of 1992, WCW and TBS announced the purchase of West Four Wrestling Alliance, which had been operating at a loss in the prairies the entire calendar year. Featuring an older core of wrestlers, the company had been failing to develop new stars. And after headliner Gene Kiniski tore his quad in May, the company began to look to sell. The initial thought was that the this would be the death knell of the Canadian wrestling scene, as the only other promotion in the north (Canadian Championship Wrestling) was much smaller and also bleeding cash each month.

The end of 1992 featured WFWA putting together a quick 16 person Grand Prix to announce it’s association to WCW, featuring young talent like Steven Regal, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Lance Storm and Rick Titan getting a chance to compete regularly. In immediate discussions between WCW management and WFWA management, it seemed as though the plan would be for WFWA to host a Canadian Grand Prix, independent from the WCW. This was a venture led by Kip Allen Frey through Turner Broadcasting - in an effort to display to his staff that he had more power than Eric Bischoff - meant to be an expansion on the LPWA purchase.

Kip seemed interested in doing business with the Canadian company, pitching a ‘long road, returning to prosperity’ that would allow them to parlay WCW’s success to their own benefit. However, the plan went sideways for Kip when Ted Turner agreed to the purchase and announced the WCW expansions would be overseen by Eric Bischoff, and not Kip. Turner stated displeasure in Kip being unable to form his own ideas and not crediting his staff appropriately. Bischoff immediately cleaned house, firing eight wrestlers perceived as Stars, and sending WCW undercard and development wrestlers to take their places.

Bischoff met with Gene Kiniski and discussed the future of the promotion. Bischoff admitted great admiration of Kiniski and stated he enjoyed working with his son Nick in AWA, as well as Baron von Raschke. Bischoff and Kiniski addressed that Kiniski’s in-ring career was over, but Bischoff wanted to offer him the position of general manager for his franchise, stating that he knew it hurt Gene to see many of the old faces shown the door, but Bischoff had a goal - and that goal was to develop a network of promotions for talent to work their way through as they grew into champions. A hybrid of the territory days and the modern superpowers.

Kiniski agreed to the terms. The first mini-season of WFWA saw Chris Benoit emerge as the first champion, and he was immediately promoted to WCW’s next upstart - Power Plant Wrestling. Up to this point, Bischoff had basic, infrequent check-ins with Kiniski. That changed on December 27th, 1992 when Bischoff showed up at the head office as Kiniski had stayed behind to watch the Oilers vs the Flames on. He handed Kiniski a stack of paperwork and congratulated him on a good start, but now the fun begins. The paperwork was contracts for a handful of wrestlers - most of which he had never heard of before, like Adam Copeland, Rob Van Dam, Rey Misterio Jr, Kid Kash - but at the bottom of the stack was Mitsuharu Misawa. The monthly figure next to his name eclipsed his entire roster’s wages put together. 

Bischoff and Kiniski went to a local pub and Bischoff talked about new marketing and rebranding and it all was going over Kiniski’s head. He drank his beer, nodding, and tried to maintain interest - The hockey game was on at the pub and the Flames killed the Oilers, which was much more engaging to Kiniski. At the end, Bischoff handed a stack of marketing collateral, all labeled with a new logo that listed “W4WA” and said that it would kick off it’s first few shows hyping the rebrand. Everything was pink and black - the last thing that Kiniski recalled Bischoff saying was that the colours would piss the boys in Stamford off.

Kiniski went home that night and couldn’t get Misawa’s wage out of his head. Bischoff didn’t say anything about it - but he didn’t hide it either. He knew that WFWA still was turning a profit, so why would he pump such a massive figure into such a small company? All he knew was, an investment that large wouldn’t go unattended. He expected that he’d be seeing a lot more of Mr. Bischoff going forward…

Edited December 12, 2022 by CactusHack

[Lord Byron]

My picks:  Lex Luger, Ric Flair, Sting, Big Van Vader, Ricky Steamboat, Powerhouse Simmons, Scott Steiner, and Arn Anderson...

[mmaaddict]

Nobuhiko Takada vs Lex Luger
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Ric Flair
Kevin Sullivan vs Sting
Rick Rude vs Big Van Vader
Steve Williams vs Ricky Steamboat
Powerhouse Simmons vs Brian Pillman
Scott Steiner vs Larry Zbyzsko
Rick Steiner vs Arn Anderson

[Old School Fan]

Nobuhiko Takada vs Lex Luger
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Ric Flair
Kevin Sullivan vs Sting
Rick Rude vs Big Van Vader
Steve Williams vs Ricky Steamboat
Powerhouse Simmons vs Brian Pillman
Scott Steiner vs Larry Zbyzsko
Rick Steiner vs Arn Anderson

[CactusHack]

In his first media appearance since winning the WWF Championship, Hulk Hogan proceeded to boast that he’s single handedly carrying the company, brother, and the Federation would be out of business without him.

AAA has hired Flor Metalico.

WWF have paired The British Bulldog and The Big Bossman as a tag team going forward. While the team hasn’t been given a unique name, The Wrestling Observer was quick to dub them Quadruple B.

Despite the massive contract signed to win Sid, Sid Vicious is an unknown in Japan. NJPW have teamed him up with Akitoshi Saito in an effort to speed up

The Lightning Kid quit PWA - rumour has it the departure was explosive, but no details are known.

Candi Devine def. Wendi Richter to claim the LMLW Florida Championship. This is her first reign.

Kenta Kobashi def. Johnny Ace to claim the vacant AJPW Triple Crown for the first time.

El Hijo Del Santo def. Villano I to win the UWA World Lightweight Championship for the first time.

The following workers have begun wrestling: Hayato Nanjyo, Shane Shamrock, Estrellita, Angel Amoroso, Flor Metalico, and Bouncer Bob.

[CactusHack]

Highlights from Main events exhibitions included the team up of Power Plant Wrestling's singles stars Action Jackson and Tony Norris that showed great chemistry together. Tony Norris has shown a lot of potential, as he's considered to have great star power, and was featured in WCW's 1992 Indie Spotlight Battle Royal - teaming up with a better known commodity may be the launching pad the 22 year old needs to make it to the centre stage. And Japanese star and major WCW signing Mitsuharu Misawa won his first match in a WCW ring over Dick Slater in what was considered to be the standout exhibition of Round 2. Despite only landing in North America two months ago, the 30 year old has been rapidly capturing the North American fanbase's attention. 

JR's Indie Spotlight highlighted the charismatic skeleton, La Parka, who has begun his singles career in the Power Plant, after playing associate to the goofy babyface team 'Big and Bigger' in 1992. Also highlighted were the Canadian team of Sudden Impact, Chris Jericho and Lance Storm. The duo are competing in W4WA as singles competitors, where they are seen as must-see wrestlers each show. Finally, JR spotlighted Austin Idol's Replacement in the Power Plant's singles division, after Idol had walked out. Rayo De Jalisco Jr, 33 years old, is a Mexican standout and current reigning Mexican National Champion.

At the Power Plant, Round Two Night One was headlined by Chris Benoit going head to head with The Patriot in a clash of faces. The two couldn't reach as decision as they fought to a double count out in the best singles match of PPW's Singles Division. Elsewhere, Mexican Heavyweight champion Rayo de Jalisco Jr started his season off with a win after taking Austin Idol's spot. And in a result that shocked the audience, La Parka pulled off the surprise victory over Mr. Hughes, despite a massive size difference.

In the tag team division, Night Two was headlined by The Legacies, David Sammartino and Lance Von Erich taking on the Wildest of the West, Bob Orton Jr and Black Bart. Sam Houston got involved here, helping the West taking the victory. The match was upstaged however by a shockingly good undercard match between Solar & Panther, and The Moondogs. Carried by a second straight amazing performance by Blue Panther, the two tag teams stole the show with the best match across both nights, and Blue Panther himself scored the victory.  And lastly, the best overall performance by an individual was from the amazing Ultimo Dragon who has captured the Southern fans hearts, but his team of Speed Eleven came up short against the Harlem Heat.

In round two action of the women's division, we saw reigning champion Madusa take a second straight draw - this time against Denise Storm. The champion hasn't looked herself so far, unable to put away either of her opponents. Madusa was questioned about her performances, and she said she can only focus on the future, there is no value in getting caught up in the past. She then came out to a show closing staredown with Akira Hokuto, after Hokuto defeated 'Miss Texas' Jacqueline in the best match of Round Two. Hokuto and Madusa are set for a collision course in Round Three, in what may be the passing of the torch to PWI's 1992 Women's wrestler of the Year, Akira Hokuto. That said, a new face emerged as a star, as after Akira Hokuto went thirteen rounds straight of being the first star of the Women's division with the best performance, another joshi laid their first claim to that spot. Manami Toyota, in a losing effort to Wendi Richter, usurped Hokuto. Toyota, a 21 year old Japanese sensation, appears to be well on her way to being a star in America as well.

Elsewhere in Round two, 'The Greek Goddess' Magnificent Mimi won her second straight contest and continues to be highlighted for her stunning looks. Susan Sexton also improved to 2-0-0 and has begun showing signs of frustration and urgency during her matches. Sexton finished 4th in the standings for 92, and as the oldest women in the division at 39, she knows that the clock may be running out.

In the great white north, Round Two was headlined by 'The Gouger' Baron von Raschke taking on Mitsuharu Misawa. Misawa is working a gimmick called 'The Standard Bearer'. The match was the best match of Round Two, Misawa's performance the best of the round (for the second round in a row) and Misawa won decisively. Meanwhile, the team of Sudden Impact continue to impress as both Jericho and Storm picked up victories over their opponents. Lastly, 23 year old Rick Titan has slowly emerged as a top talent, as a heel Power-and-Paint character. His victory over Ed Moretti continued his upward momentum, and W4WA seems to be looking to push him as the unstoppable heel in the promotion.

Round Two also marked the first show post rebranding. The show saw noticeable production improvements, and the small venue was decked out in pink and black. On top of general improvements to production, the venue was selling VHS collections of the short run 1992 season that was held in the later months of the year and saw Chris Benoit win the division. A step forward in the merchandising of the small company resulted in lots of positive fan dialogue regarding the promotion, with a lot of Canadian pride in the sentiments.

[jmhaile]

Awesome job here! The beautifully done graphics really help the presentation as well! Will be following this for sure.

[CactusHack]

The first match of the Premier Grand Prix in Round Two saw two of the most determined competitors in the game today. Lex Luger, obsessed with first place after losing everything at the end of 92, has become a very different Lex than what was seen one year ago. Meanwhile, this was Takada’s first challenge against one of last year’s premier league members, and viewed as his first real test to prove he belonged in the top division. This was an epic chess match from the opening bell, as both men refused to show any weaknesses. As the match dragged on, Luger began to show desperation in wanting to capture a win, while Takada maintained defensive poise. Time ran out and one year after a round two time limit draw had resulted in Luger with a shit-eating grin on his face that kickstarted a 6 month rivalry between him and Simmons, the same resulted left Luger incensed and more driven than ever. Meanwhile, JR and Schiavone praised this as Takada’s statement match, proving he not just belonged, but was viable to win the division. Takada would receive first star for night one, as well as would prove to be the best performer of Round Two overall.

Lex Luger (1-0-1) and Nobuhiko Takada (1-0-1) went to time limit draw. This was their first ever encounter.

The main event of night one of Round Two saw Takada’s Player Enterprises’ stablemate Bam Bam Bigelow go toe to toe with Ric Flair in nineteen glorious minutes of violence. Bam Bam busted open Flair earlier and beat The Nature Boy from pillar to post, but the dirtiest player in the game clawed back time and time again. Flair bled buckets, but in a cruel twist of fate, it led to his victory as he raked Bam Bam’s eyed with his blood soaked fingers and Bam Bam struggled to get his eyes cleaned of Flair’s blood afterwards, even accidentally shoving his manager Teddy Long to the floor who was only trying to provide him with a handkerchief. Flair was able to lock in the Figure Four and Bigelow couldn’t figure out where he was situated, resulting in him having no choice but to give up and tap out. This was the best match of Round Two.

Ric Flair (2-0-0) def. Bam Bam Bigelow (0-2-0) in 18:47. This was their first ever encounter.

Our big story in Division Two’s Round Two was the major match up between Stunning Steve Austin and The Great Muta - as Austin continued to be courted by Paul E Dangerously, Rick Rude and Ric Flair, as the Dangerous Alliance appears to be no more despite Dangerously’s efforts. The marquee match between Austin and Muta took place on Night Three and was the best Division 2 match of the Round. The match was a stiff technical brawl that allowed the audience to disregard the heel vs heel dynamic and engage in cheering for whoever hit hardest. In the end though, Steve Austin was undone by distractions from Flair and Rude at ringside, which allowed for Muta to strike with a huge palm strike and follow up with the Moonsault for three. Austin remains at a disappointing 1 point after two rounds to start the season.

A second major story in Division Two was Jerry Lawler’s match up against Tully Blanchard, but not for the match itself, rather the strange resulting consequence/circumstance that proceeded it. After an upset loss in Round One to Jushin Liger, Jerry Lawler was looking to bounce back against the 1-0-0 Tully Blanchard on Main Event. With Flamingo and his new associate at ringside, and Tully coming to the match alone after the Dangerous Alliance fell apart, Lawler was poised for success. Unfortunately, botched interference from Flamingo resulted in Tully stealing a victory and Flamingo having a tantrum. The following night on Saturday Night, the bizarre occurred when current WWF Intercontinental champion Koko B Ware was welcomed to the ring by Magnum TA. Before any explanation could occur for why Koko was on a WCW program though, Flamingo and Mr. Sandman stormed the ring and Scotty stole the microphone from Magnum to express his frustrations with his organization, yelling that his parents money wasn’t paying dividends and that he was pissed off with his clients. The following week on Main Event, Lawler promised an interview with Koko B Ware, but the WWF Intercontinental champion wasn’t allowed to say a word, as it was a set up for Flamingo to challenge him to a match at Superbrawl. Strange happenings here.

Elsewhere in the division, Liger, DDP and Cactus Jack all improved to 2-0-0, joining Tully and Muta atop the Division rankings. With Dustin Rhodes having vacated the TV championship, these five men are all eligible for the championship scramble set for Superbrawl.

Night two kicked off with Kevin Sullivan and Sting having a fun wild brawl. The story JR and Schiavone told was that Sullivan was too conflicted with a major injury his stable mate Doink received one night earlier to be able to properly stick to a game plan here. The wild and fun brawl which isn’t typically inline with Sullivan’s matches, was meant to keep things uplifting here and Sting ended up with a clean win via Scorpion Deathlock relatively early in the match.

Sting (2-0-0) def. Kevin Sullivan (0-2-0) in 13:47. For the second year in a row, Sting defeated Sullivan.

Last year, Dr. Death and the Dragon went 20 minutes straight without a winner, but proved to be a weak pairing in the ring. The size advantage Dr. Death has over Steamboat was a big factor early on, but JR sold that wearing down Ricky is an exercise in futility as the man has the ability to rebound over and over and seems ageless as he’s 39 now and still getting better. Unfortunately for Steamboat, his 39 year old body ended up coming into play as he went for a diving crossbody to the outside onto Dr. Death, but missed and flew through the commentators booth at ringside, and was unable to answer the ten count and return to the ring, as his leg gave out on him as he attempted to get back in, tripping and falling just short. After the match, Steamboat continued to stretch and shake out his leg, while Dr. Death looked disappointed in settling for a count out victory.

Steve Williams (1-1-0) def. Ricky Steamboat (1-1-0) in 13:02 by count-out. Dr. Death improves to one win, one draw against Steamboat.

Finishing off night two was a battle between mega heels, as Van Vader and Rick Rude stepped into the ring with something to prove. Build up to this one featured Vader calling himself the favourite to win the Grand Prix, referencing that his 10 match winning streak within the Grand Prix is the longest streak in history at this level, proving just how dominant he is. Rude however remains distracted by the Dangerous Alliance break up. Last year, Rude was able to withstand the force of Vader, going the distance in their match up. Unfortunately for him, his distractions got the best of him, as Ric Flair’s presence allowed Vader to hit the Vader Bomb for the win. The following week, Rude and Flair would argue at a press conference and almost get into a fight, only to be interrupted by Sting and Steamboat. Sting confirmed that at Superbrawl, the main event would be an epic Flair and Rude versus Sting and Steamboat tag match. The venom between Rude and Flair is epic and promises to be a massive main event when they finally face off. This was the best match of Night Two, and Rick Rude walked away with the First star despite the loss.

Big Van Vader (2-0-0) def. Rick Rude (0-2-0) in 17:44. Vader improves to one win, one draw against Rude.

The big news coming out of the tag team division comes from an unlikely candidate, in a match between The Journeymen and Corruption. The team of Doink and El Gigante have just started getting their footing under their new heel characters as part Sullivan’s Carnival of Curiousities, but it’s come to a crashing end as Al Snow connected with a Superkick to Doink the Clown that connected hard, breaking Doink’s neck and causing an immediate finish to occur, with The Journeymen getting a massive upset victory. Following the event, Sullivan announced he would find a replacement monster to take Doink’s spot and carry Corruption to the glory land that is the Premier League of WCW. Sullivan has also promised that his new monster would take part in WCW’s Superbrawl 93 battle royal. Meanwhile, Sullivan’s other team competed as Chaos By Nature took on The Classic Era in what would go on to be the best Tag Match of Round 2. All four men went all out in a gritty, hard hitting, war that the saw Sullivan and Gigante jump in and destroy Eaton and Finlay for a disqualification. Sullivan used this as an opportunity to put over his next new toy, but Haku appeared very unhappy with the DQ loss.

Meanwhile, The Outsiders secured their 12th straight victory in the tag team division with a win over the American Males and continued their nasty tactics by mocking Doink the Clown’s injury on TV. While off in the Premier division the Enforcers and the Steiner Brothers remained paired up, resulting in the Enforcers requesting one more shot at the WCW Tag Team Championships. The Outsiders interrupted and stated that the Enforcers have lost their merit, as with 12 straight wins, Hall and Nash are the rightful Contenders to the world champions belts and will challenge for the straps at Superbrawl 93.

 On top of these events, The Lonestar Cowboys continued their strong showing as they defeated Shooters Club. After their match, it was announced that Dustin Rhodes would be vacating his TV Championship and a Div 2 four way scramble would determine a new champion at Superbrawl 93. During the Lonestar Cowboy’s match, Barry Windham debuted a new spot - a rebound lariat - that garnered a massive ovation. JR and Schiavone went nuts for this. 

American Muscle Scott Steiner continued to be pushed as a major babyface, and looked strong against one of his 92 rivals, Larry Z. The match was straight forward wild brawling, going all around the ringside area, but Steiner never looked to be in any true danger. A developing story seems to be whether the 39 year old Larry Z has what it takes to compete at this level. Steiner wins clean with the Steiner Recliner, and without a partner having his back Larry looks like he’s peaked.

Scott Steiner (1-0-1) def. Larry Zbyszko (0-2-0) in 15:12. Steiner improves to 2 and 0 all time against Larry in regular season matches.

After their 1992 tag partners squared off, Rick and Arn took the ring to follow up the action. This was a much more even match than the previous match, and goes back and forth with lots of near falls. Rick took control and looked poised to win, but Anderson kicked out of several big moves, shocking Rick. Arn Anderson ends up hitting the Spinebuster for a clean victory. Arn Anderson stays perfect and JR comments that maybe it’s time that Arn Anderson finally emerges as his own man, but Schiavone thinks that the Four Horsemen talk will only lead to old patterns.

Arn Anderson (2-0-0) def. Rick Steiner (0-2-0) in 16:49. The pair are split one win apiece against each other in regular season matches.

In the final match of Round Two, Ron Simmons defended the US Heavyweight Championship against Brian Pillman. In the weeks prior to the match, Pillman had been requesting a rematch against Ric Flair after the Round one defeat, but Flair blew him off. Flair did end up accepting Pillman’s challenge to face ‘a horseman’, stating that he would face a previous Horseman at Superbrawl. Boasting a significant size advantage, the former World Champion Powerhouse Simmons wasn’t looking to play games with Pillman, but the plucky upstart who squeaked into the Grand Prix seemed determined to prove that he belonged. Pillman took nasty bumps all around the ring, but went high-risk time and time again to attempt to surprise Simmons. Pillman managed to catch Simmons with a few shots and aligned for the Air Pillman, but was caught in the air and Simmons turned it into a nasty spine buster that Pillman miraculously kicked out of at the last moment for a massive ovation. From there, Simmons had a couple more power moves that Pillman survived and time ran out. Simmons shook Pillman’s hand after the match, and immediately after shaking hands, Pillman collapses to the mat, completely worn out. Pillman’s efforts here earned him the first star of Night Three, as he proved to everyone that he belonged in the Grand Prix.

Ron Simmons (1-0-1) and Brian Pillman (0-1-1) went to a time limit draw. This was their first ever encounter.

Edited December 22, 2022 by CactusHack
Failed to ensure was good on Light background...

[CactusHack]

1993 ROUND 3 CARD

Prediction Grid:

Kevin Sullivan vs Ric Flair
Nobuhiko Takada vs Brian Pillman
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Scott Steiner
Rick Rude vs Larry Zbyzsko
Steve Williams vs Arn Anderson
Powerhouse Simmons vs Sting
Rick Steiner vs Big Van Vader
Ricky Steamboat vs Lex Luger

Contest Standings:

Old School Fan : 9/16 - 57%
smw88 : 5/8 - 63%
KyTeran : 10/16 - 63%
mmaaddict : 11/16 - 69%
DHK1989 : 11/16 - 69%
Nightshadeex : 11/16 - 69%
DinoKea : 11/16 - 69%
Lord Byron : 12/16 - 75%

[Old School Fan]

Kevin Sullivan vs Ric Flair
Nobuhiko Takada vs Brian Pillman
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Scott Steiner
Rick Rude vs Larry Zbyzsko
Steve Williams vs Arn Anderson
Powerhouse Simmons vs Sting
Rick Steiner vs Big Van Vader
Ricky Steamboat vs Lex Luger

[KyTeran]

Kevin Sullivan vs Ric Flair
Nobuhiko Takada vs Brian Pillman
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Scott Steiner
Rick Rude vs Larry Zbyzsko
Steve Williams vs Arn Anderson
Powerhouse Simmons vs Sting
Rick Steiner vs Big Van Vader
Ricky Steamboat vs Lex Luger

[smw88]

Flair

Draw

Scott

Rude

Williams

Sting

Vader

Lex

[DinoKea]

Ric Flair def. Kevin Sullivan
Brian Pillman def. Nobuhiko Takada
Bam Bam Bigelow def. Scott Steiner
Rick Rude def. Larry Zbyzsko
Arn Anderson def. Steve Williams
Powerhouse Simmons def. Sting
Big Van Vader def. Rick Steiner
Lex Luger def. Ricky Steamboat

[Nightshadeex]

Kevin Sullivan vs Ric Flair
Nobuhiko Takada vs Brian Pillman
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Scott Steiner
Rick Rude vs Larry Zbyzsko
Steve Williams vs Arn Anderson - Draw
Powerhouse Simmons vs Sting
Rick Steiner vs Big Van Vader
Ricky Steamboat vs Lex Luger

[Lord Byron]

My picks:  Ric Flair, Nobuhiko Takada, Bam Bam Bigelow, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Sting, Big Van Vader, and Lex Luger...

[DHK1989]

Ric Flair

Nobuhiko Takada

Scott Steiner

Rick Rude

Steve Williams

Sting

Big Van Vader

Lex Luger

[smartman]

Just to let you know that everything in the match writeups is unreadable unless you highlight it. With that great background you're using, you need to use a brighter color than gray or black. The pink showed up great but wouldn't look good if you overused it. Not sure what changed as I thought the first episode read fine. I'm guessing Steamboat has hit time decline which is why he lost to Dr. Death.

[1PWfan]

Kevin Sullivan vs Ric Flair

Flair's my pick to take the whole thing, and I figure on him being the last undefeated competitor in the game so he won't go down in round 3.

Nobuhiko Takada vs Brian Pillman

I don't know Japanese wrestlers outside of the last 5 years or so, so I'll go with the guy I know

Bam Bam Bigelow vs Scott Steiner

I'm surprised you don't have the Steiners in the Tag Grand Prix, they seem like a better fit there

Rick Rude vs Larry Zbyzsko

Rude was amazing in this period and Zbyzsko was never on that level.

Steve Williams vs Arn Anderson

Ordinarily I'd go the other way but it feels like you're building something with Dr. Death

Powerhouse Simmons vs Sting

Can't pick between them so I'm going for a draw

Rick Steiner vs Big Van Vader

Again, I figure the Steiners would be better off in the Tag Division

Ricky Steamboat vs Lex Luger

Eh, this is really a coinflip

 

Quick question: how do the titles figure into the Grand Prix? I didn't read your last dynasty so I'm a bit lost as to how those fit in

[CactusHack]

9 hours ago, smartman said:

Just to let you know that everything in the match writeups is unreadable unless you highlight it. With that great background you're using, you need to use a brighter color than gray or black. The pink showed up great but wouldn't look good if you overused it. Not sure what changed as I thought the first episode read fine. I'm guessing Steamboat has hit time decline which is why he lost to Dr. Death.

Aye - thank you. I did the write up with the dark theme and copy-pasted my source from the previous show, but failed to update the paragraph colors! Fixed!

3 hours ago, 1PWfan said:

Quick question: how do the titles figure into the Grand Prix? I didn't read your last dynasty so I'm a bit lost as to how those fit in

For sure! (Could tell by your comments regarding the Steiner Bros)
The following belts are treated as TV belts within a division (with commentary leaning on the 'larger winners purse' to present purpose:

• TV Title (Div 2)
• US Heavyweight Title (Premier)
• US Tag Title (Tag Div)

Meanwhile, the three World titles (Heavyweight : Sting, Tag Team : Steiner Bros, Light Heavyweight : Nobuhiko Takada) are all exclusive to PPV events with the Heavyweight ultimately being unified with the Premier Grand Prix at the end of 92.

The Grand Prix's themselves are higher prestige and first + second place finishes in lower divs garner a promotion, so in the previous diary, The Steiners came second in the Tag Grand Prix and were promoted to the Premier League as a result.

[1PWfan]

Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense. 

[JohnnyRaider37]

This is brilliant. I'm loving this. I'm playing wcw 92 myself and I'm about to turn the corner into 93 finally.  Would you mind if I borrowed that wcw Saturday Night banner for my personal save? I'm not gonna be uploading it online or anything, I just really like the look of it 

[mmaaddict]

Kevin Sullivan vs Ric Flair
Nobuhiko Takada vs Brian Pillman
Bam Bam Bigelow vs Scott Steiner
Rick Rude vs Larry Zbyzsko
Steve Williams vs Arn Anderson
Powerhouse Simmons vs Sting - DRAW
Rick Steiner vs Big Van Vader
Ricky Steamboat vs Lex Luger

[CactusHack]

After a strenuous year on the shelf with injury, The Ultimate Warrior made his triumphant return to the WWF.

Jacques Rougeau’s contract in the WWF was up for renewal. The 32 year old was offered a substantial raise over three years. After signing his extension, Rougeau (Under is Mountie gimmick) was put into a heel stable called The Wildcards with Mr. Perfect and Shawn Michaels, where he’ll predominantly be teaming with Perfect.

Larry Sharpe announced his intent to retire. The 41 year old was last seen running World Wrestling Association New Jersey, but it closed down in October of 92.

Kisho Bunya signed with shoot style promotion Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi and the RINGS promotion. Kisho is a 36 year old former sumo champion, trained at the Animal Hamaguchi Gym, and is poised to immediately be recognized as a major star for the two promotions.

WWA Mexico is on it’s last legs, and may be out of business shortly.

Dick Murdoch broke his ankle in a 6 man tag match and will be recovering for the next two months. The 46 year old was wrestling for the W*ING promotion in Japan when the injury occurred.

Baron von Schultz announced his retirement from the industry. This came on the one year anniversary of announcing his retirement from the ring.

Well known CMLL Star Mocho Cota suffered a ruptured spleen during a CMLL show and will be out of action for 3 months.

Kato extends his contract with the WWF for 2 more years.

Hideki Hosaka quit W*ING during the preshow of Platinum Series 1993.

Salvatore Bellomo def. Eddie Gilbert to capture the ECW World Championship at Cyberslam 93 in an ‘I Quit’ match. This is his first reign.

Tom Pritchard def. Eric Embry to capture the USWA Southern Heavyweight championship for the fourth time.

One Man Gang def. Jerry Lawler to capture the USWA Unified World Heavyweight championship for the first time. He also defeated Paul Orndorff to become the UWF SportsChannel TV Champion for the first time.

Gran Hamada def. Black Terry to win the UWA World Welterweight Championship for the first time. Hamada has been a force in the lighter weight classes for the past 14 years.

The Pitbulls won the ECW World Tag Team championships for the first time.

Ricky Fuji and Rob Kaman won the W*ING World Tag Team Championships for the first time.

The Natural Disasters def. The Legion of Doom to win the WWF World Tag Team Championships for the second time.

Perro Aguayo def. Negro Casas to win the Mexican National Welterweight championship for the first time.

Minoru Suzuki claimed the vacant PWFG Openweight championship with a victory over Billy Black. This is Suzuki’s first reign.

Rob Kaman won the W*ING World Jr Heavyweight Championship for the first time, making a double champion three days after his first title win. The shocking part of this is that he started 1993 as 1-9 for the W*ING promotion after joining in late January…

Vampire Casanova captured the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship from Cien Caras. This is his first reign.

Nobuhiko Takada def. The Great Kabuki to win the Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship in his UWFi promotion. This is his first reign.

Samuel Foley, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Magnitude Kishiwada, Homicide, Tony Rivera, Tsubo Genjin, and Villano VI.

[CactusHack]

On 12/23/2022 at 12:00 PM, JohnnyRaider37 said:

This is brilliant. I'm loving this. I'm playing wcw 92 myself and I'm about to turn the corner into 93 finally.  Would you mind if I borrowed that wcw Saturday Night banner for my personal save? I'm not gonna be uploading it online or anything, I just really like the look of it 

Ya mate, go for it. Feel free to use any of my graphics - if used elsewhere, credit accordingly.

[CactusHack]

On WCW's Main Event show during Round 3, Action Jackson and Tony Norris teamed up again for another victory, continuing their strong chemistry. During their match, commentator Magnum TA shared that they have dubbed their team 'The Nubian Nightmares'. Tommy Rich made his return to WCW television after being released in January 1992 in a losing effort. Lastly, the best match of the exhibitions was Eddy Guerrero and Konnan El Barbario taking on Rey Misterio Jr and Rob Van Dam. The match received strong reviews, with all four men receiving praise. Rumour has it RVD will be offered a developmental contract, however reporting for contracts for developmental talent are difficult to come by and purely speculative.

JR's Indie Spotlight highlighted was 30 year old 'The Standard Bearer' Mitsuharu Misawa, a japanese icon who is starting his North American journey at the bottom rung of West Four Wrestling Alliance, and quickly capturing the respect of the audience. Also spotlighted was 21 year old 'Dark Angel' Manami Toyota. After 1992 was the year of the rise of fellow joshi, Akira Hokuto, expectations were that Hokuto would be the focal point of women's wrestling in '93. However, the younger face Manami's performances have stood out ahead of her competition. And lastly, 28 year old 'Arabic Nightmare' Sabu was highlighted. After spending a year recovering from a broken neck from a deathmatch in FMW, Sabu has returned to the ring and is looking to come back stronger than before.

At the Power Plant, Round Three Night One was headlined by Chris Benoit going head to head with Manny Fernandez in what was poised to be an exciting new matchup. Unfortunately, there was a strong lack of chemistry between the two, as the clashing styles just did not mesh here. Benoit walked away with a surprise victory, proving himself to be a top contender within the division. Meanwhile, Eddie Gilbert and The Patriot went the distance in the best match of the round. Eddie Gilbert is the runaway star of the division, as his performances rank well above the rest of his class. In other news, Jeff Jarrett had to sit out of his contest against La Parka due to an injury suffered - he broke his ankle in a victory over Night Train Jackson on USWA show and will be out of action for 2 months. He showed up at the Round Three event and complained about his injury, before announcing that he has hired Disorderly Conduct to watch his back going forward.

In other news, WCW renewed Mr. Hughes’ contract, opting to move away from a monthly contract to a per appearance deal with a $5k a month downside for another 2 years. His extension was celebrated with a victory over Jerry Lynn.

In the tag team division, Night Two was headlined by Solar and Blue Panther taking on Mike Rapada and Brad Rheingans. The decision to put this match as the headline appeared to be a head-scratcher on paper, as all four are considered 'recognizable' at best. However, it turned out to be the right decision as the match would go on to be the best match of Round Three in the Tag Division, and the team of Solar and Panther took the win to improve to 2-1-0. Elsewhere, Harlem Heat, Wildest of the West, La Cultura Torcida and The Simpsons all won their respective matches to remain the only undefeated teams going into Round Four. Finally, Ultimo Dragon walked away with the best performance of the round, as his team (Speed Eleven) defeated Phi Delta Slam in a great match.

In the highly anticipated main event of Round Three, Akira Hokuto defeated Madusa. The victory sealed Hokuto as the star attraction of LPWA, as well as moved the defending LPWA champion down the rankings, remaining winless after three rounds. Madusa looked utterly defeated after the loss as Hokuto celebrated, and the odds are heavily against Madusa to retain her championship in '93. However, Hokuto's massive win was slightly overshadowed by an amazing undercard contest between Manami Toyota and Malia Hosaka. Manami secured the win and for the second week in a row put on the best performance in the Grand Prix. Fellow joshi stars Lioness Asuka and Bull Nakano remained undefeated after solid victories.

Lastly, the Magnificent Mimi upset Susan Sexton to move to 3-0-0. There was plenty of build up to this heel vs heel match, as Susan Sexton has become insecure around her aging looks and feels overshadowed by the Greek Goddess Magnificent Mimi. The two women were vicious with each other, looking to damage one another's appearance. In the end, Susan Sexton busted open Mimi's forehead and looked pleased with causing damage, but Mimi raged and finished off her opponent, before standing tall with blood streaming down her face.

In the great white north, Round Three was headlined by 'Lionheart' Chris Jericho taking on 'Natural' Don Callis in an epic battle that went the distance for a draw. This was ranked as the best match of Round Three. With neither man able to put the other away, both maintained undefeated records. Elsewhere, Buddy Hart, Keith Hart, Lance Storm and Rick Titan all remained undefeated - as did Mitsuharu Misawa, who put on the best performance of Round Three in WFWA for the third straight week, defeating Sledgehammer Anderson. Misawa is currently considered the favourite to win the WFWA Grand Prix, and it's being reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Misawa's rapid rise of popularity in North America has been a blow away success and WCW may need to re-evaluate the promotion plans for the division, as being placed in PPW next year may be result in fan backlash.