CactusHack Posted September 18, 2023 Author Share Posted September 18, 2023 Round Twelve opened up with Sting interrupting the broadcast team's welcome to the show, saying he needs to talk about 'Mr. World Wide' Hulk Hogan. Sting says that he's been bothered by how Hulk has been talking about him. Sting gets that Hogan is arguably the biggest star in wrestling history, and a recognized champion world wide, but this is World Championship Wrestling - the fastest rising wrestling promotion in the world. This is where the best wrestlers in the world come to prove they are the best in the most gruelling competition in wrestling. And at the top of it all, is Sting - the first ever champion. But... but Hogan came in and big-leagued Sting. And in doing so, he diminished everything that WCW's competition means. Hulk Hogan comes out, not in gear and to no music, as he looks to apologize to Sting. The two get in each others faces and Hogan shoves Sting, so Sting shoves Hogan to the ramp. Hogan gets up and looks like he's going to brawl, but Dusty comes out with and has a ton of babyfaces get in-between the potential brawl. Dusty shouts that they are to get along and says that they will compete tonight in their scheduled tag team match. They would go on to defeat The Classic Era in a fun match where Sting attempted to big league Hogan in return by consistently opting not to tag him in. By the end though, they worked together to get the win. After the match, Hogan went to Dusty and told him he's a singles star and he demands a singles match next week, so he was booked against Butch Reed, and he dominated Butch, submitting him to The Atomic Stretch. The final week was main evented by The Steiner Brothers teaming up with Simmons to take on Muta, Bigelow and Terry Taylor. Simmons pinned Taylor after Muta accidentally misted Taylor. Round Twelve kicked off with Scott Steiner looking to fight his way out of relegation against the heavyweight star Powerhouse Simmons. Scott came out for his match with his brother Rick, and curiously absent was Missy Hyatt. Simmons came out alone, and his demeanour during his entrance is noticeably less animated. They show mutual respect as the bell rings and then feel each other out with some back and forth jockeying for positioning. Steiner tries to bring this to the mat with some amateur wrestling moves, as JR puts over how the two men competed in different sports during their University days. Despite the lack of greco-roman training, Ron's days as a nose guard has made him a brick wall to try and take down. Simmons ends up rag dolling Scott a couple times and then tosses him right out of the ring. Scott shows a bit of frustration, but gets right back into the ring and continues to try and take down Simmons. Simmons control over the match continues to grow more and more apparent, as he shows the increased aggression that has developed since his loss to Sullivan. Simmons goes up top, but Scott meets him on the ropes and tries to hit a frankensteiner, which the crowd rises to see. Simmons stuffs it though and instead brutally powerbombs him onto the apron! Simmons pounds away at at Scott and referee Nick Patrick steps in as Scott is looking rough here, but Scott demands to continue. The crowd is cheering Scott on and turning against Simmons here, and Scott starts to fight back. It's gutsy and wild, but it's clear Scott's on his last legs here and Simmons could finish at any minute. Scott manages to hit a series of suplexes and tries to lock in an ankle lock, but Simmons fights out of it and shoves Scott into the corner. Scott falls to a seated position in the corner and Simmons just starts wailing on him, with Scott busted open and pretty much defenceless in the position. Nick Patrick tries to pull Simmons off but he shoves Nick back and keeps going at Scott. The referee looks confused about what to do, and calls for the bell. Simmons won't stop and Rick slides in and tackles him. It's announced that Simmons has been disqualified and Scott Steiner is the winner. Later in the round, Simmons sat down with Jesse Ventura and was asked why he kept going so late in the season, with so much on the line. Simmons says that he last year, he was World Champion and he ended the season just one victory away from first place. This year, he lost to the bottom-placed Kevin Sullivan. He needs to want it more, even if it'll cost him everything. Ventura asks what his current relationship to Sullivan is. Cryptically, Simmons says that Sullivan is a means to an end. Scott Steiner (3-7-2) def. Powerhouse Simmons (5-5-2) by DQ in 15:08. First ever match between the two. The main event of Night One featured Arn Anderson taking on Bam Bam Bigelow. Neither man has a serious chance at winning the 1993 Grand Prix at this point, as both would need extremely unlikely circumstantial results elsewhere to end up in the winning spot. Bigelow comes out with his entire 'Players Enterprise' stable, and on the World Wide before this match, the group held a press conference where they acknowledge the recent internal bickering and stated that it's in the past. They are the most complete group in wrestling today, with a combined record in 1993 of 28-10-9. They are competitive in nature, and sometimes that will cause friction, but they are determined to dominate WCW. These two men stared each other down and 'Double A' Arn Anderson surprised Bigelow with a swift double leg takedown to start the match. This match is a brawl right from the start as the two men just pound away on each other. They trade momentum back and forth, with the big story being that Arn isn't backing down from the bigger man at all, with JR and Schiavone selling Arn as a tough son of a bitch. The slugfest warehouse down both men and they start to trade strikes at a slower and slower pace. Bam Bam takes a wild swing and Arn ducks and then lifts the bigger man for a body slam before collapsing to the mat. Arn rallies the crowd, lining up for the Spinebuster, but Bigelow stuffs, clapping Arn's ears. Bigelow with Greetings from Asbury Park! Strong victory for Bigelow here, but after the match the two shook hands, much to the pleasure of the live crowd. Bam Bam Bigelow (6-4-1) def. Arn Anderson (4-5-3) in 14:51. First ever match between the two. Round Twelve in Division Two saw the stars at the top all pad out their grip on top spots as the season is running out as Cactus Jack, Muta, Austin and Liger all picked up victories. As the round wrapped up, their victories ensured that one of the four would walk away the 1993 Division Two champion. Terry Taylor and Tully Blanchard also picked up victories to keep them in the hunt for the second promotion spot. At the bottom of the division, Samoan Savage and Bobby Fulton both took defeats to keep them tied in relegation spots. A talking point in the round was Bobby Fulton admitting his failures as a singles competitor, and announced that WCW has acknowledged that he will return to the tag team division in 1994 to reform 'The Fantastics' with his partner Tommy Rogers, after a year long absence due to Rogers' injury. Footage was shown of Rick Rude coming back through the tunnel after his time limit draw against Ric Flair in Round 11. Rude tossed around garbage and equipment as he got through the curtain, as he yelled that he should be in first place right now. Meanwhile, Sullivan's recent dark rituals are spotlighted with a focus on the puzzle box that Sullivan is carrying. RIck Rude comes to the ring determined to put an end to Kevin Sullivan's 3 match win streak and take one step further to becoming the second ever Premier League Grand Prix Champion. Sullivan gets an upgrade to his entrance, with the lighting dampened and added dry ice smoke as a new theme hits the speakers. Sullivan has reverted some of his look to his Army of Darkness days, and he carries his puzzle box with him to the ring. The two tie up and Sullivan bites at Rude's shoulder and Rude retreats, audibly yelling "what the fuck?" as JR and Schiavone play up just how unbalanced Sullivan has become since his wife has left him - there is an eerie calmness to his viciousness. Sullivan attacks Rude on the outside and starts working Rude's hand, looking to break his fingers. Rude shoves Sullivan into the corner post to stop the frenzy and then hip tosses him into the wooden ring steps. Powerhouse Simmons makes his way to the ring and Schiavone and JR question what's going on with him as he seems to have been deeply affected by Sullivan's change in persona. Simmons stands at ringside and stares at the Sullivan, unwavering. Sullivan and Rude continue to trade offence back-and-forth. Rude starts to get control and looks like he's building up to the Rude Awakening. Simmons rolls into the ring and lariats Rude from behind! Simmons with a Dominating Powerbomb. Simmons looks as Sullivan and nods before marching to the back. As he gets through the gorilla position, Magnum TA tries to get a word with Simmons, saying that Simmons knows the fine for interrupting a Grand Prix match, but Simmons just marches past him. Later in the round, Jesse Ventura sat down with Rude and asked him how he felt about his tainted victory over Sullivan. Rude said it doesn't matter how he wins - he's going to be crowned champion at the end of the season. People have asked him if he as any ill will towards Simmons for the attack, but Rude can only thank him for helping him get one step closer to glory. He really doesn't care about Sullivan and Simmons' weird relationship. Meanwhile, on a new segment called 'Talking Dangerously' with Paul E Dangerously, Paul sat down with Sullivan and Simmons and asked what is going on between the two. Simmons remains silent while Sullivan plays with the puzzle box and says that Ron has seen things way greater than this world. This bond goes much deeper. Rick Rude (9-2-1) def. Kevin Sullivan (3-9-0) in 16:27 by DQ. Rick Rude improves to 2-0-0 all time against Sullivan. Over in the world of the New Four Horsemen, there continues to be questions as to who will be the final member. Flair, Austin and Pillman are having fun with it though, as they hold try-outs for potential candidates, where they just mock undercard guys. Norman Smiley, Jimmy Garvin and Rip Rogers all tried out and were laughed out of the room. During the auditions, Woman brought in Missy Hyatt, who flirted with Ric Flair and was all over him throughout the segment. The match itself begun with Flair coming out with Austin, Pillman and Woman, while Rick came out with his brother Scott, and Missy Hyatt. Throughout the entrance, Rick and Hyatt were bickering and the match started off with Flair flirting with Hyatt. Rick Steiner sends Hyatt to the back, not wanting to deal with her on this night, and Hyatt flips him off. Their partnership seems to pretty much be over. Of course, the distraction here leads to a classic Ric Flair chop block and immediately Flair begins working the lower extremities of his opponent. Rick Steiner fights back with an explosive series of suplexes that leaves Flair wobbly and punching at the air, before he flops and rolls to the floor. There is a confrontation between Rick Steiner and The Horsemen, and Scott ends up leaping from the top rope onto Pillman and Austin in a crowd popping spot. The match goes back and forth from here, with Flair killing any momentum Rick Steiner begins to build by poking the eyes several times over. Things break down quite a bit when Steve Austin attacks Scott Steiner from behind after being goaded by Pillman. Scott ends up fighting the two Horsemen on the outside up the ramp and to the backstage, leaving us with just Ric Flair and Rick Steiner alone to finish things up. Rick builds up to his signature diving bulldog move, but Flair pulls him off the turnbuckles, with Rick Steiners head clunking off of the top turnbuckle. Flair gets the Figure Four locked in and Rick is dazed and has no choice but to tap out. Ric Flair (8-1-3) def. Rick Steiner (2-10-0) in 14:52 by submission. This was their first ever encounter in WCW's Grand Prix. Prior to the match up between Dr. Death and Sting, Steve Williams sat down with Jesse Ventura to discuss the match. In a change of pace, Williams was brash and vocal, stating he was frustrated with his performance this season and says it's a travesty that he's slipped all the way to potentially being relegated from the top division in wrestling. Ventura eggs him on a bit, wondering if maybe Steve's peaked, before stirring the pot by stating that the whole Shooters Club is lower ranked in all divisions than you'd think they'd be, to which Steve goes off, criticizing Johnny B Badd, Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn for no reason. They try to cool him down and he storms off of Ventura's set. Meanwhile, WCW personnel also caught up with Sting who is seen at the gym working out with Dan Spivey and One Man Gang. Sting was asked about his argument with Hogan on World Wide, and Sting deflects, stating he's got to focus on his huge challenge against Steve Williams. The match kicks off with a show of respect and some decent chain wrestling, but after Sting gets the upper-hand several sequences in a row Steve begins to get frustrated and just charges Sting. Steve gets jeered by the live audience and his stablemates at ringside try and get the crowd to rally instead. Williams slowly builds up momentum as the match progresses with hard hitting moves and deep submissions. Williams grinds down Sting consistently plays into the crowd slowly turning against him. Sting begins to rally as time begins to wind down, hitting more and more moves as Williams shows signs of tiring. Sting goes for the Stinger Splash but Dr. Death absorbs it, catching Sting in a gutwrench. He marches to the middle of the ring with waist control over Sting, and hoists him up for the Doctor Bomb, but Sting rolls through with a sunset flip and Dr. Death cannot kick out in time! Sting wins to maintain first place! Sting stands tall as Williams storms to the back, pushing off Ken Shamrock who tries to console him. Sting (10-2-0) def. Steve Williams (3-6-3) in 19:03. Sting improves to 2-0-0 all time against Dr. Death. The new tag team of Power Plant star Chris Benoit and Joey Maggs unveiled their team name, 'The Wild Stallions' and picked up a second straight shock victory when they beat The Young Pistols in a highly contested match up. The duo debuted matching attires and Benoit was especially impressive as he scored a roll-up victory over Tracy Smothers. After their victory, The Wild Stallions were jumped backstage by True Grit. Tony Anthony and Bull Gantner still blame Maggs for breaking up the Anthony's. The Journeymen - True Grit's Round Twelve opponents - attempted to ward off True Grit and help The Wild Stallions. True Grit would go on to defeat the Journeymen. The collision course between True Grit and Joey Maggs reaches it's head in Round Thirteen as the two teams will face off for the first time. The Colussi (Gigante and Hansen) continued their domination with a tenth straight victory, absolutely destroying the Heavenly Bodies. The Terrors (Spivey and One Man Gang) also improved to ten wins on the season, keeping them tied for the second promotion spot. The Outsiders decimated The Killer Bees who remain the only winless team across all three WCW divisions. JR and Schiavone are selling that no one has ever been pointless through an entire season in WCW and the Bees have three rounds to save themselves from that dubious record. The Rock N Roll Express also picked up a victory, keeping them in the running for promotion. In a bit of build for Round Thirteen, The Outsiders and The Rock N Roll Express had a confrontation backstage. Both teams acknowledge that it's must win territory for both teams. The Freebirds came up short against The Lonestar Cowboys, when Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy had a bit of miscommunication that allowed Dustin and Barry to hold on to first place in the division. After the match, The Freebirds appeared on a segment of Inside the Squared Circle with Magnum TA and Jesse Ventura and Terry Gordy vocalized his frustrations with Hayes, noting that perhaps it wasn't Jimmy Garvin who was the problem before. 'Sex Pistol' Dave Taylor tried to cool things over but Gordy seemed to feel like it was about time that the legendary band broke up. The final night of Round Twelve kicked off with Brian Pillman making his entrance alongside Flair, Austin and Woman for a match against Lex Luger. This match starts off with Pillman goading Luger and taking a few cheap shots before laughing with Flair and Austin. Luger finally gets his hands on Pillman and Brian sells fear like it is death. Luger throws Pillman around and poses for the crowd to a chorus of boos that shock him. JR comments that the guy is so full of himself, he doesn't realize how big of a prick he comes off as. Pillman rakes the eyes and then takes the advantage with a scurry of offence. The heel vs heel dynamic here could be clunky, but instead the two are putting out great character performances that are keeping the crowd engaged and entertained. Pillman goes for a his Air Pillman move, but Luger catch him with a big boot as he jumps, sending Pillman crashing down onto Flair and Austin. Flair conks his head as a result and attempts to yell at Luger, only to stagger and then flop to the concrete. Back in the ring, we get a series of power moves from Luger. Luger locks in the Torture Rack and Pillman has no choice but to tap out. Luger is four points behind first place in the rankings with just three rounds remaining. Brian Pillman is tended to by Woman while Flair and Austin enter the ring and shout up the ramp towards Luger. Lex Luger (8-2-2) def. Brian Pillman (2-7-3) by submission in 14:53. This was their first ever encounter in WCW's Grand Prix. Larry looks concerned as the bell rings and Takada seems extremely confident. The match starts with a quick round house kick from Takada that rocks Larry and he scurries to the outside where referee Nick Patrick checks on him. Takada paces and lets Larry get back in. Larry tries a couple takedown attempts but each one is stuffed by Takada, who follows up with a high angle hip toss and then an armbar that Larry struggles to get out of. Larry retreats to the outside again and starts cursing at Nick Patrick. JR and Schiavone question if Larry's looming relegation has gotten to him, as a loss tonight ensures that Larry cannot remain in the top flight. Takada with another high kick to Larry that stumbles him. Takada with a judo throw and then locks in a dragon sleeper and the referee calls for the bell immediately after the emphatic victory. As Takada celebrates, JR confirms that at 8:34, this is the shortest match in Premier League history to date. Nobuhiko Takada (7-1-4) def. Larry Zbyzsko (1-11-0) by referee stoppage in 8:34 when Larry couldn’t continue. This was their first ever match. Steamboat versus Vader was built up as the headliner of Round Twelve, with focus being put on their 1992 encounter which was named WCW's match of the year. The analysis team of Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race and Paul E Dangerously all focused on whether this year's match could live up to the hype or not, as last years bout had the added bonus of greater stakes due to Vader being neck-and-neck for first place in the 92 Grand Prix, whereas this year Vader is at the bottom of the 6 potential winners for 1993's Grand Prix and Steamboat is looking to escape relegation. Dusty commented that perhaps Steamboat's need to escape relegation is a greater stake that will push this match to it's boiling point. The build up to the match included a sit down with Cactus Jack, who has been in Vader's corner since early 1992 and shocked the world when he defeated Ricky Steamboat at Slamboree this year. Cactus says that Steamboat is on a downward trend, and doesn't think that the 40 year old can pull off an upset at this point in his career. WCW also debuted a new segment called 'Talking Dangerously' with Paul E Dangerously, which featured both Vader and Steamboat discussing the match in a more casual tone. Staged as a radio show, Paul and his guest are all dressed casually. Vader comes out with Cactus Jack in his corner, while Steamboat comes out with Jushin Liger. JR and Schiavone sell the match as a potential powder keg. Vader starts hot, but Steamboat is wary to each attack, countering and using his speed to get the upper hand. Time is ticking away now and Steamboat ascends to the top rope, lining up for the flying crossbody. Vader catches him and hoists him for a powerbomb though. But Steamboat rolls through with a sunset flip, but Vader sits down on Steamboat and grips the ropes for leverage! Randy Anderson counts but Steamboat barely escapes! Steamboat with a small package for a near fall! Vader sprints at Steamboat, trying to strike him down, but Steamboat ducks and dodges all strikes with lightning precision and then catches Vader with a dropkick. Steamboat with a DDT and Vader kicks out! Steamboat looks vicious as he immediately follows up with two more DDTs, but time expires as he's hitting the second one. Vader rises to his feet, busted open now, and stares down Steamboat. High tension here as Randy Anderson gets in the middle to prevent anything further. Vader offers his fist though, and Steamboat bumps it and nods. Vader leaves while shaking his head and the crowd is red hot as WCW goes back to the analysis booth. An absolute classic match, ranked 5 stars in the Wrestling Observer. After the match, at the analysis booth, Dusty, Dangerously, Race and Hogan recap the show. Round 12 goes off the air with Sting interrupting and confronting Hogan. Security swarms the set as the two berate each other. Ricky Steamboat (3-5-4) and Big Van Vader (7-3-2) went to a time limit draw. Vader has the advantage all time, as he is 1-0-1 against Steamboat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted September 18, 2023 Author Share Posted September 18, 2023 ROUND 13 CARD Prediction Grid: Ric Flair vs Steve Williams Scott Steiner vs Nobuhiko Takada Big Van Vader vs Arn Anderson Sting vs Lex Luger Larry Zbyzsko vs Ricky Steamboat Kevin Sullivan vs Rick Steiner Bam Bam Bigelow vs Brian Pillman Rick Rude vs Powerhouse Simmons Contest Standings: Swinny : 0/6 - 0% Bigelow Cartwheel : 5/16 - 32% Old School Fan : 59/103 - 58% Vandal : 18/30 - 60% smw88 : 50/84 - 60% Lord Byron : 67/111 - 61% DHK1989 : 68/111 - 62% KyTeran : 10/16 - 63% 1PWfan : 15/24 - 63% Nightshadeex : 61/97 - 63% SonOfSharknado : 2/3 66% mmaaddict : 30/46 - 66% DinoKea : 31/46 - 68% Dawn : 3/3 - 100% Authors Note: Sorry all the large gap in writing here. On the night where the wrestling world lost Bray Wyatt, I lost my grandfather. It's been a busy month, mainly being there for my father and making sure he was dealing with it okay. Outside of loss early in my childhood, I have been blessed enough for death to never rear it's face for my close family over the course of my life. This year though, I've lost an uncle, my family cat, and now my grandfather. It made me think about life and the things I should be doing with my life - I should be doing things I want to do. One of those things is I have never gone to a wrestling show. So, at 33 years young, I will be attending my first ever wrestling show - AEW Wrestledream in Seattle. Just wanted to share with y'all as a reminder to do the things you want to do, and enjoy the life as much as you can. Plenty of love, CactusHack. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted September 18, 2023 Share Posted September 18, 2023 (edited) My picks: Ric Flair, Nobuhiko Takada, Big Van Vader, Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Rick Steiner, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Rick Rude... Edited October 12, 2023 by Lord Byron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHK1989 Posted September 18, 2023 Share Posted September 18, 2023 Ric Flair Nobuhiko Takada Big Van Vader Sting Ricky Steamboat Rick Steiner Bam Bam Bigelow Rick Rude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSharknado Posted September 18, 2023 Share Posted September 18, 2023 That's really awful to hear about your grandfather. I'm glad you're doing better now and I hope you have fun at WrestleDream! Ric Flair vs Steve Williams Scott Steiner vs Nobuhiko Takada Big Van Vader vs Arn Anderson Sting vs Lex Luger - Draw Larry Zbyzsko vs Ricky Steamboat Kevin Sullivan vs Rick Steiner Bam Bam Bigelow vs Brian Pillman Rick Rude vs Powerhouse Simmons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightshadeex Posted September 19, 2023 Share Posted September 19, 2023 Life is unpredictable, I think it's generally a good idea to live it up when you can. It can help ease the pain of the losses when they come. Sorry for yours. Ric Flair vs Steve Williams Scott Steiner vs Nobuhiko Takada Big Van Vader vs Arn Anderson Sting vs Lex Luger Larry Zbyzsko vs Ricky Steamboat Kevin Sullivan vs Rick Steiner Bam Bam Bigelow vs Brian Pillman Rick Rude vs Powerhouse Simmons I'm not confident in my picks, it's mainly the person with the better record... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobheadJake Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 I've spent the last few days reading this and the 1992 season and it's amazing! The graphics are amazing and it's a very unique way of telling a story. I love the behind the scenes stories, especially Bischoff going increasingly egotistical day-by-day. I would love to see someone different people pop up, or pop back up in Heyman's case, more in those parts but love how you do it either way. Honestly, looking forward to seeing how this season ends and what happens going in to a new season, and how things shape up. Also, condolences regarding what happened in your personal life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted September 28, 2023 Author Share Posted September 28, 2023 Rookie independent wrestler New Jack, who has recently been competing for Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling, was raced to ER after a terrific drug overdose. The 30 year old has not been shy about his drug use issues, so the incident didn’t come as much of a surprise to his friends and co-workers. Local journalists have reported that while New Jack is now described as stable, he nearly passed away before being resuscitated. Medical experts claim the incident will leave him with permanent damage to his physical capabilities, and leave him unlikely to compete in a wrestling ring ever again. Shane Douglas and Bam Bam Bigelow are no longer friends. Latin 45 year old Enrique Vera announced his decision to retire from wrestling. The luchador is known for his time as a part of the currently defunct Universal Wrestling Association. His last match was a win on an independent show in Mexico City. Tatsumi Fujinami’s contract with NJPW was renewed for $3.7M over 2 years. During a dark match, John Rambo broke Jacob Blu’s ribs after a botch. There is no hard feelings over the incident. Dean Malenko underwent surgery for his torn rotator cuff. Initial reports indicate that the surgery was a success and Dean will be back in action ahead of initial indications. WWF extended road agent Jack Lanza’s contract for 18 months for $382K. After missing the first 5 rounds of 1993 for an MMA bout, Ken Shamrock has opted to take another fight in 1994, and will begin training immediately after the 93 Grand Prix season wraps up. Rusher Kimura has announced his retirement from wrestling. The 52 year old is a former 5 time IWE World Heavyweight Champion, and his final match was at an independent event where he defeated Kishin Kawabata. Ray Lloyd, still fresh off of his losing debut, has taken a second MMA fight and will begin training soon. Victor Zangiev has accepted a second career MMA fight. Willie Peeters has signed up for his second career MMA fight. Nelson Royal announced his intent to retire. The 3 time NWA World Junior Heavyweight last competed on WCW’s Main Event program in a losing effort to Scotty Flamingo and Jerry Lawler that saw his suffer a torn achilles. Yoji Anjo has signed on to compete in his third career MMA bout. He currently is undefeated with a 1-0-1 record. Current AJPW World Jr Heavyweight Champion Richard Slinger suffered a concussion during a 6 man tag match and will be out of action for a month. Whether AJPW keeps the title on him or vacates it remains to be seen. Sirenita and Brazo de Oro have begun dating Tasha Simone and Jacqueline Moore have become good friends. Kendall Windham has signed a 3 year, $291k exclusive contract with UWF. Herb Abrams continues to grow his south west based promotion. Perennial jobber Bob Bradley underwent surgery for his torn rotator cuff. His return to action will be sooner than initially stated. During a dark match, El Canek Jr botched a move that resulted in chronic shoulder pain for Juventud Guerrera. Bad Crew 2 and Frankie Lancaster won the ECWA Tag Team Championships for the first time. Pirata Morgan defeated Oro to win the Mexican National Cruiserweight title for the first time. Dutch Mantell won the WWC Television title for the first time, defeating El Bronco #1. Jesse Barr defeated Randy Tyler to win the CRMW Mid-Heavyweight Championship for the first time. The Patriot and Todd Champion captured the vacant CAPW Tag Team for the first time, when they defeated New Jack and Axl Rotten Jimmy Jannetty and Tony Stetson defeated The Pitbulls to capture the ECW Tag Team championships for the second time. Horace Boulder and Sambo Asako defeated Damage Inc to win the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Titles for the first time. Ricky Fuji won the vacant FMW Independent Jr Heavyweight Championship. The team of Onslaught (Mark Canterbury and Ron Slinker) defeated Rocky Johnson and Kendall Windham to win the ICWA Tag Team Titles for the first time. Lou Perez defeated Jimmy Backlund to win the ICWA Light Heavyweight Championship for the third time. Luc Poirier (wrestling as ‘Rambo’) won the previously vacant CWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Kendo won the UWF Super Middleweight title for the first time, defeating Koji Kanemoto to do so. Eddie Gilbert and Huracan Castillo Jr defeated Eric Embry and Rick Valentine to win the WWC World Tag Team Titles for the first time. Ed Moretti defeated Gerry Morrow to win the Atlantic Grand Prix International Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Monkey Magic Wakita (known to North American audiences as Super Delfin) defeated Norio Hong to win the UWF Super Welterweight Championship for the first time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted October 12, 2023 Author Share Posted October 12, 2023 In 'B Show' action, Main Event featured an awesome bout between young stars Eddie Guerrero and Ultimo Dragon. JR's Indie Spotlight highlighted 25 year old 31 year old 'Angelic' Jimmy Del Ray, who currently competes for PNW and ICWA. Del Ray has been wrestling for 13 years, is a former 4 time ICWA Light Heavyweight Champion, 2 time PWF Light Heavyweight Champion, and was the final reigning SSW champion prior to it's purchase by WCW. He is also known as a former tag team partner with Tom Prichard as one of the 'Heavenly Bodies'. Next up was renowned 39 year old journeyman Rocky King. King received a big home town pop on the show and was put over as having had several 'brushes with greatness' as a (losing) opponent to the likes of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Kevin Sullivan and Nikita Koloff in the NWA. King would have a surprise match on Main Event against The Great Kokina, who proceeded to squash King in 90 seconds flat. Finally, JR spotlighted the team of Rex King and Steve Doll, The Southern Rockers. Profiled for a promising run in the Power Plant's Tag Team Division, it seems like the young tag team has rebounded well from their relegation out of the WCW Tag Team Division at the end of 1992. Round 13 in the Power Plant featured Chris Benoit once again stealing the show with his in-ring performance against undefeated headliner Eddie Gilbert. The two went the distance in the main event of Round 13 for the division, and the match was critically acclaimed. After his draw, 'Hotstuff' Eddie Gilbert cut an out-of-character, heelish promo talking about how he was the only wrestler in the promotion who knew how to 'walk like a champion'. The promo gained a bit of traction as Hotstuff is honing in on a first place finish. Elsewhere, Shane Douglas picked up a huge win over La Parka while Rayo De Jalisco Jr failed to secure a win against Tony Norris (they went to a time limit draw) - allowing Douglas to surpass Jalisco Jr in the rankings. The Power Plant's Round Thirteen Main event was an international showcase between the team of La Cultura Torcida (Eddie Guerrero and Konnan) and Speed Eleven (Ultimo Dragon and Great Sasuke). The two teams reached a double pin draw finish when Guerrero and Ultimo Dragon pinned each other after a superb technical sequence. After a bit of confusion, referee Scrappy McGowan acknowledged that both wrestlers shoulders were down. The match stole the show and it was heavily due to the breakout performance of Eddie Guerrero, who was awarded 'wrestler of the round'. The draw pushed La Cultura Torcida into first place after The Southern Rockers dropped their match against Solar and Panther. In other news, Mike Davis was found absolutely wasted on hard drugs ahead of his scheduled match. In no condition to compete, Davis was pulled from his match and released from his WCW contract as a result. Rod Price stepped in and teamed with Tommy Lane in a losing effort. After the match, Rod Price was given a huge thank you boost from authority figure Roddy Piper, who promised Price a spot in the 1994 Grand Prix for stepping in short notice. It was a feel-good moment for Price who has regularly been used as a dark match jobber the past year and a half. Jumping over to Women's action, Round 15 featured Susan Sexton continuing her career ending run with a main event match against the undefeated Akira Hokuto. The match was an instant classic, acclaimed as the greatest Women's Wrestling match in 1993, and setting a new standard for American Women's Wrestling. Neither lady could put the other away, resulting in a time limit draw. Akira Hokuto claimed best female performance of the round. Elsewhere, Magnificent Mimi picked up a win to keep within pace of Akira for the crown. Madusa won her match over Leilani Kai, but the points total between her and first place is almost officially too much for a comeback to retain her title. Nick Bockwinkel interviewed 'The Best Woman Wrestler in the World' Madusa about handing over her 'crown' and Madusa seemed taken aback and disappointed in herself. And finally, Candi Devine completed her turn with blatant cheating against Rockin Robin. After both Misawa and Rick Titan's journeys to perfect seasons ended in recent weeks, the duo bounced back with dominant wins over Kid Kash and Keith Hart. Even though the perfect season still eludes them, the collision course between the two for the championship continues to roll on. Misawa continued his streak of top performer in the division, looking to maintain that distinction through to the end of the season. Misawa and Kash put on the best match of the round. Elsewhere in the division, Lance Storm and Rey Misterio Jr went to a double count-out after an insane flying hurricanrana to the outside by Misterio that neither man could recover from. This was a match that was extremely well received by the audience and critics alike. It seems like the young Misterio has begun to really connect with the audience and his matches are getting more time and more love. Buddy Landel continued his push as the dark horse for the league title as he picked up a win and is only 7 points back from first place, keeping him in the mix. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 Over on World Wide, Round 13's opening night featured The World Wide Kickoff, as the Steiner Brothers took on their round 13 opponents, Kevin Sullivan and Nobuhiko Takada, in tag team competition. Takada was left shocked by his partner, Kevin Sullivan, who laid out their opponents with a steel chair blatantly in front of a referee, accepting a DQ loss for his efforts. Also on the opening night, Hulk Hogan came out for a public interview with Magnum TA and the intent to publicly apologize to Sting for his recent words. Hogan admits that he's been on the outside looking in this year, and he feels like he is at risk of losing some of his spotlight with Sting actively competing in the Grand Prix at that level, while he is stuck waiting for 1994 to start. So, Hogan would like to team up with the Stinger one more time, here on his show - WCW World Wide. Before Sting can come out to answer though, Rick Rude interrupts. Rude warns Hogan that he shouldn't waste his time with Sting, as he is yesterday's news. Hogan should be paying attention to Rick Rude - WCW's uncrowned champion. They stare each other down. The following week, Hogan's request to team with Sting one more time is honored as they faced off against Jushin Liger and Ricky Steamboat in an amazing match that saw Hogan pin Liger. As Sting and Hogan appear to have finally warded off their animosity, they are jumped by Player Enterprises and beat down to end the broadcast. Meanwhile, Steamboat showed a bit of frustration with his loss and current standing in the Grand Prix and had a confrontation with his friends Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes. Steamboat challenged Dustin to a match on the final World Wide of Round 13 and Dustin shocked the world when he defeated Steamboat cleanly. Round Thirteen kicked off with Ricky Steamboat taking on the placed 'Cruncher' Larry Zbyzsko. Larry looks absolutely embarrassed coming out, as he was the first wrestler mathematically relegated from the Premier Division, and everyone knows he's on his way down the card. This is the first ever singles match between these two wrestlers, and JR says that at this stage in the Grand Prix, Steamboat has so much more on the line as he is right on the verge of relegation and has the opportunity to fight his way to retaining his spot for 1994, while Larry can only play the spoiler. Despite the circumstance, these two men put on a clinic as Larry immediately went to work on Steamboat's shoulder, building an early advantage and JR sold that the work down to Steamboat's Brachial Plexus could cause inability to complete various moves and even damage his ability to properly apply a pin as the match goes on. Steamboat sells Larry's attacks, and appears to be injured early on, but Steamboat refuses to let referee Nick Patrick call the match off. Zbyzsko hits a series of shoulder-breakers as Schiavone says that this is the most dangerous Larry has looked all year. Larry taunts the crowd and then argues with the referee. He goes for another shoulder breaker, but with only one good arm, Ricky reverses it into a crucifix and gets the three count! Backstage, Magnum TA caught up with Larry Z, asking what is next for him in 1994. Before he can answer, Tully Blanchard interrupts and tells Larry they should talk. Ricky Steamboat (4-5-4) def. Larry Zbyszko (1-12-0) in 16:38 by pin. First ever match between the two. The opening night concluded with Ric Flair (accompanied by Steve Austin, Brian Pillman and Woman) taking on 'Dr Death' Steve Williams (accompanied by Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, Johnny B Badd and Jody Hamilton). The match is extremely important for Dr Death, as a win keeps him within pace to jump out of relegation over the last two rounds. As a result, the urgency from Williams is on high display here and Ric Flair is clearly struggling to breath as he's never given a moment's rest. Outside the ring, Pillman and Austin are antagonizing The Shooters Club, distracting the referee. Flair low blows Steve Williams while Randy Anderson's back is turned and then rolls him up while holding the tights for the win. Dr. Death argues with Randy Anderson and then trashes the announcers booth at ringside. Severn and Shamrock try to calm him down and Williams shoves them away and storms off to the back. After their victory, The Horsemen continued their vignettes to find their fourth, as Butch Reed and The Fantastics tried out for the spot. Once again, Missy Hyatt appeared at the tryouts, flirting with Pillman and Austin. Flair told Butch Reed they are looking for someone on the rise, not on the decline. When The Fantastics interviewed, Austin stated they are only looking for one more Horsemen, not two. Segment ends with The Horsemen beating up The Fantastics in the office space. Ric Flair (9-1-3) def. Steve Williams (3-7-3) in 17:23 by pin. First ever match between the two. Round Thirteen in Division Two saw a major shock upset that allowed for a top spot tie in points, as Cactus Jack was defeated by Diamond Dallas Page. The victory allowed The Great Muta to tie Cactus in points, as Muta picked up a win over Johnny B Badd in a match that saw Johnny B Badd get distracted by stable dysfunction when Dan Severn and Steve Williams started shoving each other at ringside. And Steve Austin and Jushin Liger both picked up wins to keep their promotion dreams alive. At the bottom of the division, both Samoan Savage and Bobby Fulton suffered defeats to solidify there looming demotions. With Fulton already confirmed to be moving back to the Tag Team Division for 1994, it seems as though he is destined to lose out his remaining matches. Night two opens with a match between Takada and Scott Steiner. Takada appears with the entire Player Enterprise stable (Teddy Long, Terry Taylor, Bam Bam Bigelow and The Great Muta) while Scott enters with his brother Rick. Missy Hyatt was not present for The Steiner Brothers and Schiavone made sure to point out that her services to the brothers seem to be no longer desired. Takada outclassed Scott early on, but Scotty maintained poise and refused to give up any openings, as Steiner took each strike and throw defensively and was immediately back to a position where Takada saw no true advantage. Takada continued to chip away at Scott, until Takada turned to his stablemates to laugh at Scott and Steiner jumped at the opening, hitting Takada with a quick snap belly-to-belly suplex that caught him off guard. He followed it up with three more throws in rapid succession until Takada regained form and then Steiner dropped back to a defensive position. JR put over how dangerous Takada is and how well regarded by his opponents he has become, as well as the sheer display of experience beyond his years that Scott is displaying in combating Takada's style. Takada strikes away at Scott, who stays defensive, eating each strike without giving Takada an opening to follow up with anything final. The crowd cheers for Scott who is absorbing more and more punishment and taking it like a champ. Scott yells at Takada "Is that all you got?" Takada works hard to try and break Scott down, but Scott maintains his resilience and Takada smiles after time expires. Scott is hesitant as Takada approaches, but Takada only shows Scott respect, raising his arm to the shock of the crowd. JR says that Scott showed a lot of heart tonight, and while Takada was the superior athlete, it did not amount to a victory. Nobuhiko Takada (7-1-5) and Scott Steiner (3-7-3) went to a 20 minute time limit draw. This was their first ever encounter. Rude versus Simmons II is built up as a big rematch from 92. In 1992, Simmons defeated Rude and was at the peak of his game, but recently Simmons has been distracted by whatever evil Kevin Sullivan has introduced him to. Rick Rude however needs to avenge a prior defeat on his road to becoming champion. Rude comes out alone, as does Powerhouse Simmons; however, it's only a matter of minutes before Kevin Sullivan comes out with his strange puzzlebox and stands at ringside. Simmons and Rude go back and forth, with Simmons constantly getting the upper hand, playing into the story that he has Rude's number. Rick Rude goes for the Rude Awakening but is back-suplexed instead. Sullivan distracts Nick Patrick as Simmons grabs Sullivan's puzzlebox and clocks Rude in the forehead without the referee seeing it. Simmons pins Rude! After the bell rings, Sullivan pulls the referee aside and tells him Simmons cheated. Patrick sees the broken puzzlebox shards and Rude's head has split open. Patrick reverses his decision and Rude is helped to the back as he has his hand raised! Simmons is furious and Sullivan slaps him across his face and then turns his back to him, allowing Simmons to strike if he so chooses. Simmons marches off to the back instead, leaving Sullivan untouched. Rick Rude ends up being a special guest on 'Inside the Squared Circle' with Jesse Ventura and Magnum TA the week after this match. He is asked how he feels about his tainted victories. Rude gives Magnum a dirty look and says there was nothing tainted about his win. He doesn't give a shit about whatever is going on between Simmons and Sullivan - all he knows is that he is the visage of a champion and the world will give him everything he needs as he fulfills his destiny of becoming WCW Grand Prix Champion. His Round 14 opponent, Nobuhiko Takada, interrupts him and warns Rick that his journey to glory ends when he fades out to 'The Submission Supreme'. Rick Rude (10-2-1) def. Powerhouse Simmons (5-6-2) in 18:01 by reverse decision DQ after Simmons pinned Rude. They are now tied 1-1 all time against each other. The main event of night two is Arn against Vader. Ahead of their match, the two sat down with Jesse Ventura on World Wide to discuss the matchup. Vader talks about having a less successful year as last year he finished second. He says that the competition continues to improve and he's still the baddest dude on the planet. Arn says that he's in the middle of the pack in the division and needs the win more than Vader, as he needs to put some distance between himself and a relegation spot. They talk about Vader's amazing match last week against Steamboat, and how Vader wasn't able to put away Steamboat. Vader says he's going to make sure that Arn doesn't get 20 minutes with him. Vader comes out with Cactus Jack in his corner. Arn comes out alone. Cactus Jack joins JR and Schiavone at the commentary booth. The match is heavy hitting right off the bat as the two just wail on each other. Vader chops away at Arn's chest, popping blood vessels and turning in purple in the opening minute. Arn yells though and chops Vader back. JR says Arn has a lot of balls, but going shot for shot with Vader is just plain stupid. Of course, as he says that, Arn shows his intelligence by goading in Vader and then suckering him with a low angle shoulder block to Vader's hip that sends him reeling to the outside floor. They brawl on the outside and it's just all-out physicality. Vader charges at Anderson, but Anderson moves and Vader sends himself crashing headfirst into the steel barricade. Vader is busted open and the railings are toppled. Over on commentary, Cactus Jack sounds like he's getting off on the carnage, as he says he can't wait to join the Premier League and experience the most violent matches one can imagine. Anderson scoop slams Vader onto the fallen guardrail and the metal twists as it gives way to Vader's frame. Referee Randy Anderson is begging Arn to bring it back into the ring. Vader fights back in the ring, with a body avalanche splash in the corner. Vader goes for a Vader Bomb in the corner, but there is no one home. Arn follows up with a series of knees to Vader's head. One of Vader's eye's has swollen up from an errant shot. Vader fights back with a series of strikes and hits a spinning backfist that splits Arn's lip. Vader goes for a powerbomb, but there is a moment of hesitation as he grips his hip in pain. Arn struggles out and hits a DDT! Vader groggily gets right up and eats another DDT! Randy Anderson with a decisive three count and Arn is victorious! Arn Anderson (5-5-3) def. Big Van Vader (7-4-2) in 14:54. First ever meeting in for these two. The biggest match up of Round 13 in the tag team division was between The Lonestar Cowboys (Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes) and The Terrors (Dan Spivey and One Man Gang). Dustin was able to score the big win over One Man Gang to keep The Lonestar Cowboys in first place in the division. The Cowboys only need one win to secure a promotion to the 94 Premier League, and with the lowly Killer Bees as one of their opponents a promotion seems inevitable for Dustin and Barry at this point. They have one other opponent before The Killer Bees though, at that team picked up their eleventh straight victory in Round 13 - The Colussi ('Sugar' Stan Hansen and El Gigante) continue to dominate and it seems as though their Round 14 match against The Lonestar Cowboys will likely crown the 1993 Tag Team Grand Prix champions. A secondary story in the tag team division played out over Round 13 surrounding the two bottom teams in the division as The Killer Bees were set to face off against The Heavenly Bodies in what seemed to be The Bees best opportunity to avoid a dubious pointless season. The two teams poor seasons were highlighted and at this point it seems both teams will be demoted out of WCW's main stage at the end of the year. The Bees put on a strong showing in a fun match, but in a strange occurance, a third masked Killer Bee appeared at ringside, distracting Jim Brunzell who attempted to make the tag to the wrong bee and allowing Tom Pritchard to pick up the win. The third bee celebrated with Tom and revealed himself to be Jimmy Del Ray, Tom's prior Heavenly Body partner. Elsewhere, The Journeymen (Al Snow and Chris Adams) shocked The Fabulous Freebirds with a surprise victory. A week after their match, they were interviewed about their tough Round 14 match against The Terrors, and Terry Gordy showed increasing frustration with Michael Hayes, attributing their losses to Hayes' inability to keep up with the top talent. There was also increased build for the tag match between The Outsiders and The Rock and Roll Express. The two highly ranked teams went the distance as neither team could pick up the victory before the time limit expired. Lastly, Jesse Ventura interviewed the Shooter Club stable regarding recent difficulties. In a shock moment, Ken Shamrock used the platform to advise his teammates that he would not be returning for the beginning of the 1994 season, as he has accepted a high profile MMA bout for early 94. They argue as Shamrock suggests that maybe Severn brings back Norman Smiley to team with. Steve Williams walked off the set, stating that he's done with the group. Manager Jody Hamilton looks at his group and says that he guesses that is it for the stable. Ventura says it's a shocking development. Round 13's final night kicks off with Bam Bam Bigelow and Brian Pillman making their ways to the ring for their first ever match up in any setting. Both guys come out with their respective stables in tow, with Pillman accompanied by Austin, Flair and Woman, and Bigelow accompanied by Takada, Teddy Long, Terry Taylor and Muta. Pillman antagonizes Bigelow as the match kicks off with him hitting quick strikes and then retreating, while JR and Schiavone put over how despite the size discrepancy we shouldn't count out Pillman in this one - even though he's shown his true colours as a bastard, he's proven time and time again that he's resourceful enough to succeed against even the biggest of foes. This is a wild match that saw Pillman really shine as he flew around consistently, as well as selling any time Bigelow did get his hands on him like it was death. The two men brawl around the ring, and we get a fun staredown between the Horsemen and Player Enterprises. Bigelow shows off his strength as he catches Pillman who was diving out of the ring on to him, and throws him onto the entrance ramp with a sickening thud. Flair and Teddy Long get into some jawjacking at ringside which distracts referee Nick Patrick which allows Woman to spray Bigelow in the eyes with hairspray! Pillman rolls up Bigelow and picks up the shock win! Brian Pillman (3-7-3) def. Bam Bam Bigelow (6-6-1) in 15:19 by roll up pin. This was their first ever encounter in WCW's Grand Prix. Ahead of his match, Kevin Sullivan sat down with Jesse Ventura. Ventura asks Sullivan about his puzzle box and the cryptic promises to Powerhouse Simmons. Sullivan smiles and assures Ventura that all will be revealed in due time. Rick Steiner comes out with Scott and valet Missy Hyatt, but sends Hyatt back to the locker-room after they argue on the ramp. It's clear that Rick no longer trusts her. Sullivan comes out to his creepy child's toy music box theme music again. The two square off as Schiavone and JR detail their history as stablemates in The Varsity Club, prior to Rick stepping away from Sullivan and becoming enemies, feuding in the tag team ranks for a good stretch of 1989. They start off trading amateur holds as a callback to their days together, but Sullivan keeps turning to desperate foul play to turn the tide. Referee Nick Patrick continues to warn Sullivan that he'll disqualify him, and Sullivan responds by saying he's not scared of losing. Rick starts to build up some momentum as he strings together some impressive throws. Powerhouse Simmons is shown watching from ringside. Steiner positions Sullivan on the top rope and looks to be going for brother Scott's move, the Frankensteiner. The crowd gets on its feet, only for Sullivan to bite Rick, and then strip the turnbuckle padding off and uses the pad ropes to choke Rick. Rick falls down and Sullivan hits the Devil Stomp from the top rope to secure the win. Kevin Sullivan (4-9-0) def. Rick Steiner (2-11-0) in 16:21 by pinfall. This was their first ever Grand Prix match. The three week cycle for Round 13 built up Luger Vs Sting II as the featured attraction. There were segments consistently building up the match, with discussion points around Luger versus Sting in 1992 being the deciding match to crown the champion of the year. Magnum TA recapped the feud these two had in 1992 en route to their face off, with Luger having spent the majority of the year as the WCW World Heavyweight champion, and the only times Sting was able to face off with him was in multi-man contests. On Paul E Dangerously's new show, 'Talking Dangerously', (a filmed 'call-in' radio show where Dangerously talks with his guests over his over-sized mobile phone) Lex was kind enough to grace the WCW audience with his presence (even if just remotely by call-in), saying that he's too busy at the gym, perfecting his physique to waste time appearing at arenas for the unworthy public swine. They touch on how Luger is now in must win mode, as a loss tonight ends his journey to becoming the 1993 Grand Prix champion. Sting comes out in his magnificent robe, and shows off the gold his has accumulated over the past year as Jim Ross comments that there is no man in wrestling who has accomplished as much as Sting has over the past 12 months. Luger arrives and has Harley Race in his corner. The energy for this one is very high and the commentary team is sure to recap the relationship between the two competitors. Luger attacks from behind before the bell and is all over Sting early on, getting tons of heat for his tactics. The crowd hates Luger, who poses maniacally as he continues to work over Sting. Luger is at the top of his game here, killing every attempt Sting makes to rally and build any momentum. Luger hoists Sting into the air for the Torture Rack! He's got it locked in and Sting is fading but refusing to quit as JR says he's gutsy for trying to fight through this, but with just two rounds left he should be taking this loss to live to fight another day. Luger gets frustrated with Sting's resilience and hits a disgusting Argentine backbreaker before hoisting Sting back up for the Torture Rack again. Sting looks to have faded and referee Randy Anderson checks on him, but he is still responsive and refusing to quit. Somehow, Sting musters the strength to start punching Luger in the side of the head. The Torture Rack starts to weaken and Luger drops to a knee. Sting gets out and rallies with a strike combo to back Luger into the corner. Stinger Splash! Luger is on spaghetti legs and Sting scoop slams him before locking in the Scorpion Death Lock. Luger taps out! After the match, Sting stands tall as Lex leaves the ring, dejected. Luger blows off Magnum who attempts to interview him immediately after his loss. Magnum enters the ring to talk with Sting, when out comes Ric Flair and Rick Rude. The three men stare each other down - one of these three men will be crowned champion! Tension is high and Sting hoists his gold up, saying this is what it is all about, boys! Sting (11-2-0) def. Lex Luger (8-3-2) in 18:54 by submission. Sting is 2-0-0 against Luger all time in Grand Prix competition. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSharknado Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 And here I was, about to suggest that Steiners could join the Shooters Club to turn things around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted October 17, 2023 Author Share Posted October 17, 2023 ROUND 14 CARD Prediction Grid: Powerhouse Simmons vs Rick Steiner Larry Zbyzsko vs Arn Anderson Ric Flair vs Lex Luger Scott Steiner vs Ricky Steamboat Kevin Sullivan vs Steve Williams Rick Rude vs Nobuhiko Takada Sting vs Brian Pillman Bam Bam Bigelow vs Big Van Vader Contest Standings: Swinny : 0/6 - 0% Bigelow Cartwheel : 5/16 - 32% Old School Fan : 59/103 - 58% Vandal : 18/30 - 60% smw88 : 50/84 - 60% Lord Byron : 71/119 - 60% DHK1989 : 72/119 - 61% Nightshadeex : 65/105 - 62% KyTeran : 10/16 - 63% 1PWfan : 15/24 - 63% SonOfSharknado : 7/11 64% mmaaddict : 30/46 - 66% DinoKea : 31/46 - 68% Dawn : 3/3 - 100% Synopsis: With just two rounds remaining, the race for the Premier League championship has narrowed down to Sting, Rude and Flair. Sting can win out to repeat as champion. With Sting taking on his greatest foe - Ric Flair - in the final week, there is still plenty of drama left in this race. The current standings have Larry Z, The Steiner Brothers, Kevin Sullivan, Brian Pillman and Steve Williams all in relegation spots, with Steamboat, Anderson and Simmons all within reach of relegation depending on how the last two weeks shake out. At this time, only Larry and Rick are incapable of escaping relegation. In Division Two the race for the title has narrowed down to Cactus Jack, Great Muta, Jushin Liger and Steve Austin. Two of these men will also receive a promotion to the Premier League at the completion of the 93 season. With the clock winding down on the season, it's anyone's game still here. And in the tag team division, the 1993 championship may be decided in Round 14 as the two top teams (Lonestar Cowboys and The Colussi) are set to face off. Both teams only need one win in their remaining two contests to secure a promotion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 My picks: Powerhouse Simmons, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, Ricky Steamboat, Steve Williams, Rick Rude, Sting, and Big Van Vader... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightshadeex Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 Powerhouse Simmons vs Rick Steiner Larry Zbyzsko vs Arn Anderson Ric Flair vs Lex Luger Scott Steiner vs Ricky Steamboat Kevin Sullivan vs Steve Williams Rick Rude vs Nobuhiko Takada Sting vs Brian Pillman Bam Bam Bigelow vs Big Van Vader That's right! I'm going for Pillman with a massive upset to shake things up! It'll probably be a draw, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSharknado Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 Powerhouse Simmons vs Rick Steiner Larry Zbyzsko vs Arn Anderson Ric Flair vs Lex Luger Time limit draw Scott Steiner vs Ricky Steamboat Kevin Sullivan vs Steve Williams Rick Rude vs Nobuhiko Takada Time limit draw Sting vs Brian Pillman Bam Bam Bigelow vs Big Van Vader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 he November 1st, 1993 - 9:01 AM After there were journalistic rumblings over the course of most of October regarding another promotional takeover by WCW, a press conference in Atlanta is held. With news of Smoky Mountain Wrestling publicly searching for a buyout, and WCW offering bail out money early in October, all signs point towards the purchase of the fledging Tennessee promotion. However, as the press waits as the WCW representatives proceed to the podium, some confusion arises due to the lack of Jim Cornette's presence, as well as the presence of an unidentifiable, short, young Japanese man wearing sunglasses. Eric Bischoff “Hello all, thank you for coming to this breaking announcement. I am proud to announce on behalf of World Championship Wrestling that the company has completed the purchase of Japanese wrestling organization, ‘Professional Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi. To remain based out of Kanto, the relaunching of PWFG in 1994 as a WCW subsidiary will utilizing the WCW Grand Prix format to feed international talent into WCW’s lead programming. The decision to pay off PWFG’s existing debts in order to launch a competitive international subsidiary comes with WCW’s desire to become a global entity that promotes diversity and seeks to showcase only the best talent the world has to offer on the greatest stage in wrestling. World Championship Wrestling also thanks the former owner of PWFG, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, for his support in facilitating the purchase of his company. Fujiwara will stay on as an employee at PWFG as long as he desires, as his knowledge will serve future generations of wrestling in their own development. World Championship Wrestling has hired international consultant Kazuo ‘Sonny’ Onoo to oversee day-to-day operations and serve as the liaison to WCW in it’s Japanese endeavours. Onoo will be tasked with scouting the best talent Japan has to offer and advise in the hiring of new talent.” 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted October 26, 2023 Author Share Posted October 26, 2023 50 year old Samoan wrestler Afa suffered a disgusting concussion during a UWF tag team match and will be out of action for over a year. ULL has added Yuji Yauraoka, MEN’s Teioh, Kazunori Yoshida, Shinichi Nakano and Koji Nakagawa to their roster. After 1 year on the shelf following suffering a broken neck from Buddy Hart, Steven Regal has been medically cleared to wrestle once again. El Sicodelico announced his retirement from wrestling Jacob Eli broke Erin O’Grady’s arm during a botched spot. John Arezzi launched International Wrestling All Stars, a promotion built around touring. UWF’s Fury Hour has ended it’s run. Without a weekly television show at it’s disposal, the dirt sheets have begun to wonder how the growing promotion will continue it’s current momentum. Yumi Fukawa signed immediately with AJW after graduation. Referee Joey Marella renewed his WWF contract for $1.22M over 4 years. The Warlord renewed his WWF contract for $561K over 3 years. John Arezzi launches International Wrestling All-Stars. His initial roster signings consisted of Ray Stevens, Bill Eadie, Frank Goodman, Steve DiSalvo, Ranger Ross, Tyree Pride, Lord Zoltan, Iceman King Parsons, Dynamite D, Larry Stephens, Sean Royal, Val Puccio, George South, The Gambler, Ken Wayne, Rudy Boy Gonazalez, Tony Puccio, Paul Perez, Dino Casanova, Don Muraco, Ron Bass, Jerry Calhoun and Joel Goodhart. WCW undercard wrestler Mr. Sandman showed up to a taping of Main Event and was noticeably drunk. WCW have opted to send him to rehab. After a bidding war with New Japan, WWF opted to renew aging attraction Andre The Giant to a $3.8M contract over the next 18 months. Brazo de Oro suffered knee ligament damage and will be out of action for a month. The American Kickboxer and Lady Amazon have started dating. Kanto based Shoot-style promotion Fight Network Rings has experienced a surge of growth and is now classified as a medium sized promotion. Mighty Inoue has renewed his contract with All Japan, signing an 18 month extension worth $255K Gary Albright sustained a back injury and will be out of action for 2 months. Willie Peeters broke his leg during a freak accident in a match against 2 Cold Scorpio. Peeters was scheduled to compete in an MMA contest in early 94. Mr. Pogo defeated Atsushi Onita to win the FMW Brass Knuckles championship for the third time. El Bronco #1 defeated Ron Starr to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Tazmaniac and Metal Maniac won the NAWA Tag Team Champions for the first time, defeating Rochester Roadblock and Johnny Rotten. Hamaguchi & Sasaki won the 1993 NJPW Super Grade Tag League. Under the name Bull Power, Vader defeated Franz Schumann to win the CWA World Heavyweight Championship for the Fourth Time. Debbie Combs defeated Mizuki Endo to win the USWA Women’s Championship for the second time. Johnny Kidd defeated UK Greg Valentine to win the RWS English Middleweight Championship for the first time. CMLL has opted not to renew Gran Markus Jr’s contract. Ringo Mendoza defeated Blue Panther to win the NWA World Welterweight Championship for the first time. Tony DeNucci and Charlie Norris defeated The Top Guns to win the PWA Tag Team titles for the first time. Gosaku Goshogawara, Eiji Tosaka, Yumi Fukawa, Corporal Punishment, Armando Fernandez, Humberto Garza Jr, El Elegido, Raijin Yaguchi, Pentagoncito, and The Killer Jr all entered the world of wrestling. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonny912 Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 If herbie's uwf is on the way out, then it might get time to make like vultures and pick apart the remains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 In 'B Show' action, Main Event featured quite a few international young talent showcases, with the best match of the round being Ultimo Dragon vs Negro Casas in a preview match for the two athletes' tag team match in Round 14 Div 2 Tag Team action down at the power plant. JR's Indie Spotlight highlighted the Power Plant tag team of 'Harlem Heat', which consists of brother duo Booker T and Stevie Ray. The duo has a winning record in the Power Plant's tag team division and have been gaining momentum as the season winds down. While they are on the outer skirts of promotion, they have proven this year to be a team that could breakout. Younger brother Booker T is definitely considered to have more potential, as his brother Stevie Ray is already 35 years old. Next up, LPWA frontrunner Akira Hokuto was spotlighted by JR. The 26 year old Japanese sensation is uses a ruthless killer gimmick that pays tribute to 1973 Japanese film 'Lady Snowblood'. Undefeated in LPWA this year, her last loss came to 1992 LPWA champion, Madusa. Lastly, JR spotlighted Koji Kanemoto, a 27 year old excursionist has wrestled in Canada, America and Japan over the course of 1993, and is the current reigning ULL Intercontinental Tag Team Champion alongside Great Sasuke. Koji also had a reign as ULL Super Middleweight Champion this year. Jim Ross used the opportunity to announce that Koji Kanemoto would be joining WCW subsidiary PWFG to compete in the 1994 season. Round 14 in the Power Plant was headlined by Rayo De Jalisco Jr taking on Chris Benoit, who has agreed to complete his remaining schedule with PPW while he also wrestles in WCW's tag team division. There is a bit of trepidation here as Benoit is only two nights removed from his WCW tag team match and showing the effects of a gruelling match there. Rayo De Jalisco Jr picked up the win, taking advantage of Benoit's fatigue in the best match from Power Plant during Round 14, a worthwhile main event - and Benoit's performance was critically acclaimed as the best of the round, his recent work has begun to vastly exceed his lower division peers. Elsewhere, Eddie Gilbert and Shane Douglas continued their pushes for the championship of the division with wins, as with one round remaining, they are they only two who remain in contention. *The tag team division's matches are scheduled to be completed early during WCW's Round 15, and as such will be reviewed at a later date. Over in Ladies Pro Wrestling Association, Round 16 was headlined by the highly anticipated match between Akira Hokuto and Manami Toyota - considered to be two of the top three Puroresu joshi alongside current reigning AJW champion Toshiyo Yamada. The match did not disappoint, however it failed to reach the level of excitement that Hokuto achieved against Susan Sexton earlier this season. Akira continued her run a top the Women's Division with a hard fought win. Meanwhile, Magnificent Mimi knocked off one of her biggest challenges in Bull Nakano as she remains just two points behind Hokuto in the rankings. And Susan Sexton continued her final run win a decisive win over Bison Kimura, in another impressive match as she continues to be 'must watch' en route to her retirement. Lastly, up north in Canada, Misawa and Rick Titan continued to dominate the division with victories over their respective opponents. Misawa's match against John Quinn was once again the best match of the round, and Misawa continues on his course of being MVP of the division for every round. However, a different match caught the spotlight this week, as two young upstarts in Rey Misterio Jr and Kid Kash stole the audiences hearts as they put on a high-flying contest that had the fans going nuts. Kid Kash was able to pick up the win, but both men gained a ton of respect from the fans, really standing out this round. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 *During Round 14, there was storyline overlap with a PPV event, WCW Halloween Havoc 1993. The PPV was pretty much a one-match card, and will not be getting a proper write up. However, some storyline information will be included in the Round 14 write up below. For reference, Halloween Havoc occurred at the end of the first week. The main event of Halloween Havoc was Sting and Hulk Hogan taking on Player Enterprises, and the story behind that match will be described where appropriate below.* In a continuation of the friendly rivalry that has developed between Dustin Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat, after taking a loss in singles competition to Dustin, Ricky challenged the young upstart to a tag team match. Steamboat teamed up with Jushin Liger to form 'Thunder Dragon' and the duo put on a magnificent match against the first place tag team, The Lonestar Cowboys. Thunder Dragon was able to score the win over the first place team when Ricky pinned Dustin. Steamboat and Liger gelled very well. The younger Horsemen members took on DDP and Z-Man, who is still recovering from the injuries that The Horsemen left him with previously. It was a surprising main event that over-achieved in it's efforts. Pillman pinned Z-Man while Ric Flair acted extra-youthful on the outside. Lastly, Hulk Hogan competed against Bobby Eaton in another strong match for Hogan. Hogan won with his new Atomic Stretch finisher (a plum stretch) and then proceeded to cut a promo about feeling ready to join the WCW Premier League. His short time in WCW has proven to him that the greatest professional wrestling lives here. Bruno Sammartino debuted a new segment where he looks at some of the international success that WCW wrestlers have achieved. On his first segment, he highlighted Big Van Vader's win of Heavyweight Gold in CWA. Round Fourteen kicked off with a battle of the behemoths between the two heaviest competitors in the Premier Division. Vader won last year's memorable encounter and have been teaming together as of late in New Japan's Super Grade Tag League with great success. Schiavone and JR wonder if their friendship they've formed in Japan will bleed into America - perhaps Vader will join the highly successful Player Enterprises? Schiavone says he'd put money on this match ruining their foreign friendship. Vader came out to the ring wearing his retro mask as a call back to their clash in 89 over the IWPG Championship. Bigelow comes to the ring with Terry Taylor, Muta, Takada and Teddy Long, while Vader has Cactus Jack in his corner. They start off with Bigelow showing off his agility advantage, but finally Vader gets his hands on Bigelow and they jockey back and forth in a test of strength that neither man budges from. Bigelow hits a few flashy moves and starts to showboat, but is shut up when Vader hits a massive dropkick that shakes the entire ring. Vader grounds Bigelow and works his shoulder over, trying to position for a submission. Bigelow hits a surprise scoop powerslam out of nowhere and the ring wobbles as the two beasts collide with the mat. Bigelow goes for a massive twisting moonsault but Vader gets out of the way and Bigelow crashes and burns. He tries to recover on the apron and Vader spears him in an ugly massive bump to the floor. Bigelow is cut open by this and clearly phased. Vader tries to powerbomb Bigelow, but can't lift the Beast from the East... Bigelow backs Vader into the corner with a barrage of strikes, but Vader retaliates with a spinning backfist that catches Bigelow flush on the jaw. Vader pins Bigelow for the three! Vader and Bigelow fist bump after the match. Bigelow was clearly beat up after the match and in rough shape, which caused Nobuhiko Takada to decide to select Great Muta as his tag team partner for the main event of Halloween Havoc. Bigelow seemed irked by this development. Big Van Vader (8-4-2) def. Bam Bam Bigelow (6-7-1) in 15:29 by pin. Vader improves to 2-0-0 all time against Bigelow. The main event of Night One featured Arn Anderson taking on former tag team partner, Larry Zbyzsko. Schiavone and JR go over their historic win of the first ever WCW Tag Team Grand Prix. Despite their dominance over the tag team division, wrestling as singles competitors at the highest level hasn't resulted in a very prosperous year for either man as Zbyzsko is in last place and confirmed to be relegated at the end of the season, while Arn has had an up-and down season sitting at .500 and needs a win here to protect him from a potential relegation spot. As the match kicks off, the two shake hands. JR says that despite Arn's face turn earlier this year on Flair, Arn and Larry haven't had any negative interactions between them, and there is mutual respect... but as he's saying this, Larry attacks Arn from behind as he's tossing something outside his corner. Very slow paced, technical bout here. Arn hits a gordbuster early on, but seems to tweak his knee doing so and Larry turns into a vulture on the prowl as he immediately hones in on Arn's injury. It becomes apparent that it's just a ploy by Arn though, as Larry works a submission on Arn and Arn uses it as an opportunity to game plan, showing a lack of any real danger towards the hold being deployed. Arn takes shots at Larry's kidneys on the right side. Larry keeps working over the leg of Arn, and Arn keeps feeding shots to Larry's kidneys, including a vicious looking backbreaker that scored Arn a near fall. Arn goes for a kick with his supposed good leg, which Larry catches and then goads about the predicament that Arn finds himself in as he bounces on a 'bad' leg. Arn smiles and then hits an enziguri that knocks down Larry Z! Arn follows it up with a single leg boston crab, digging his knee into the kidney region and Larry howls in pain and taps out immediately. After the match Arn tries to shake Larry's hand, but Larry is frustrated with the result and the season as a whole and shoves his former partner away before leaving. Arn secures a spot in the 1994 Premier Division with this victory. Arn Anderson (6-5-3) def. Larry Zbyszko (1-13-0) in 17:37 by submission. First ever match between the two. At the top of the division, all eyes were on the 'final four', the last four wrestlers in contention for the 93 championship as well as the two promotion spots to the Premier Division. Cactus Jack was interviewed about having to close the 93 season out against both Division Two members of Player Enterprises. Cactus said that he couldn't wish for a better conclusion to his campaign, as he's going to have to put himself through hell to get into the Premier League. Cactus defeated Terry Taylor to continue his quest. Steve Austin destroyed Samoan Savage in convincing fashion to keep his run alive and then attacked his final opponent, Diamond Dallas Page, backstage. The brutal beatdown left WCW questioning whether DDP would be able to compete for the final round. The Great Muta defeated Butch Reed to maintain his top place tie with Cactus Jack, meaning that his finale match against Cactus Jack would decide a champion. Lastly, Jushin Liger took on Tully Blanchard in an effort to keep his promotion dreams alive - however his dreams were cut short as he wasn't able to secure a pinfall or submission against Tully and the two went to a time limit decision. Johnny B Badd defeated Al Perez by Knockout in his first match since the dissolution of Shooters Club. Jody Hamilton remained in B Badd's corner and encouraged him to strike more frequently, and B Badd ended up hitting a knockout punch on Al Perez that left referee Jimmy Jett no choice but to call the match. Lastly, Jerry Lawler was upset by Z-Man Tom Zenk. After the match, Scotty Flamingo had an outburst on Lawler for losing. Ahead of his match against Steve Williams, a segment aired of The Steiner Brothers pressuring Missy Hyatt for an answer on her recent behaviour, with Rick thinking she has a thing for someone in the Horsemen. In a surprise twist, Missy Hyatt admits that she has fallen for the darkness, and is under the spell of someone else... Kevin Sullivan! Later on, in a backstage segment with Magnum TA, Sullivan cut a promo with Missy Hyatt as his new girlfriend. He says that a few months ago, he had lost everything. His wife, all his matches, his purpose. But he's found so much more, all thanks to his toy (he fondles his puzzle box) and says that he's clawed his way all the way back from hell. Simmons interrupts and tells Sullivan that he's right where Sullivan was - he's dropped down the rankings and lost the support of the fans. He's ready for everything that Sullivan has to offer. Sullivan says... not quite. Simmons looks unhappy... Steve Williams and Kevin Sullivan make their way to the ring. Dr. Death is alone for the first time in his campaign, having split from The Shooters Club. He looks determined and angry. Sullivan comes to the ring with Missy Hyatt in his corner. She's rocking a twist to her previous cheerleader shtick, with a slight gothic edge to it to match her new heel persona. Powerhouse Simmons makes his way to the ring as well. Schaivone puts over the previous relationship between Sullivan and Williams during their days in the Varsity Club, including an NWA Tag Team Championship run. The two have only been in one singles match against each other previously, during last years' Grand Prix where Williams picked up the win. This is a hard hitting affair with several nods to their amateur backgrounds. Sullivan busted open Williams early and they brawled and wrestled on the mat for a fair amount of excitement. Williams gained the upper hand with a few rough looking overhead throws on the outside floor, including a slam onto the edge of the ring apron. Sullivan fishhooked Williams and bit at the cut above Williams' eye, really opening him up. From there, Sullivan had the advantage for quite some time and had a few near falls as Williams is on the defensive. At ringside, Simmons grabbed Sullivan's puzzle box at ringside and began to leave, which distracted Sullivan. Hyatt got in Simmons way, while Steve Williams grabbed Sullivan from behind and rolled him up for the three count. Simmons gave the puzzlebox back to Hyatt and stormed off as Sullivan was furious. Steve Williams (4-7-3) def. Kevin Sullivan (4-10-0) in 14:13 by pin after a distraction by Powerhouse Simmons. Dr. Death improves to 2-0-0 all time against Sullivan. Ricky Steamboat and Scott Steiner show respect before their match as JR and Schiavone talk about how both wrestlers cannot afford to lose tonight if they want to stay in the Grand Prix for 1994. A draw in this match will mathematically ensure that Scott Steiner is relegated. The two start off even, but Ricky has a 10 year experience advantage and each exchange results in Ricky with the upper-hand. Very back and forth match, nothing special to write home about. Ricky Steamboat is at the top of his game and everything he does in the ring is super smooth and as Schiavone points out, even though he is 40 years old, Steamboat shows no signs of slowing down. If anything, Ricky is better in the ring than he's ever been before. Steamboat runs the ropes and Scott jumps up out of nowhere, hitting him with the Frankensteiner! He keeps Steamboat straddled after the landing and hooks the leg, and it keeps Ricky down! Scott has upset Ricky and keeps his Premier League hopes alive for another day! Ricky is shocked by the result, but shakes Scott's hand after the match. Scott Steiner (4-7-3) def. Ricky Steamboat (4-6-4) in 17:54 by pinfall. This was their first ever encounter in WCW's Grand Prix. The main event of Night Two featured a legendary rivalry revisited as Lex Luger took on Ric Flair. As Flair makes his way to the ring with his cronies Pillman and Austin, Schiavone and JR talk about how The Nature Boy is in 'must-win' territory right now. His opponent, Lex Luger has never defeated Flair by pin or submission, as they wrestled each other extensively for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship between 1988 and 1990. All of Luger's victories against Flair came from self-preservation on the behalf of 'The Nature Boy' as Flair crooked his way out of losing the World Title each time. This will be their first match within the confines of the WCW Grand Prix. The match starts off with Flair getting a quick cheap shot in that doesn't phase the imposing Luger. Luger snarls at Flair as Flair pleads forgiveness from his knees, but it's a lure to poke the bigger man in the eyes. Flair chips away at the bigger opponent as Schiavone and JR talk about how Luger looks like he's used his time to work out harder. He may be avoiding additional work, but it's clear that he's spending that time in the gym. Flair goes to the top rope, but Luger grabs him and hoists him up high with a massive press slam that Flair sells like death. Flair gets to his feet and punches weakly at the air before flopping again. Luger goes for the Attitude Adjustment Piledriver but is backdropped. Flair with a couple knee drops onto Luger's legs. Flair taunts as he sets up the Figure Four, but he's kicked backwards. Luger gets up and Flair charges him and grapples him into a headlock that turns into an abdominal stretch. Luger uses his raw strength to lift Flair off his feet from the hold and manages to turn it into the Torture Rack! Flair screams wildly and taps out! Luger has finally defeated his legendary rival, and has likely ended Flair's run for the championship. Lex Luger (9-3-2) def. Ric Flair (9-2-3) in 17:45 by submission. This was there first WCW Grand Prix match. An unfortunate story within the Tag Team division reached it's conclusion, as The Killer Bees set out to avoid the notoriety of losing out the entire season when they faced off against the Samoan Swat Team. Prior to the match taking place, the two teams were featured in a segment with Ric Flair, Brian Pillman and Steve Austin, where the two teams tried out for a spot in the illustrious Four Horsemen stable. None of them were taken seriously, and when the two teams broke into a brawl during the try out, the Horsemen laughed and left. During their match, Jim Brunzell was legitimately knocked out by a stiff headbutt and Samu called an audible on the finish, pinning him immediately for the win. Medical staff tended to Brunzell, who has been diagnosed with a major concussion and will not return to action for over a year. During a tasteless promo the following week, The Samoan Swat Team put over just how dangerous a Samoan headbutt is. B Brian Blair will be tasked with finding a substitute for his final match of 1993, when he faces off against The Lonestar Cowboys... ... who managed to pull off the seemingly impossible task of defeating the previously undefeated Colussi in a battle for first place in the division. With the win, The Lonestar Cowboys have clinched the Tag Team Grand Prix Championship for 1993, as both Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham will be promoted to The Premier Division. The victory occurred when Dustin managed to secure a shock roll-up victory on the colossal El Gigante. The loss left The Colussi in a tie for second place with The Terrors, who picked up the win over the Fabulous Freebirds in a hard fought victory. Only one of the two teams will be promoted to the top tier, and The Terrors hold the tiebreaker between the two thanks to a Round One victory, back when Gigante was teaming with Doink. Speaking of The Freebirds, there were extra eyes on their match against The Terrors as Dr. Death Steve Williams was present at ringside. After the loss, the Freebirds were special guests on Jesse Ventura and Magnum TA's weekly segment, 'Inside the Squared Circle'. During the segment, Terry Gordy exploded in a fit of frustration, firing roadie 'Sex Pistol' David Taylor from the band before telling Hayes that he's breaking up the band after Round 15. A distraught Micheal PS Hayes attempted to talk Gordy out of it, and nearly succeeded before Dr. Death Steve Williams intruded and pulled Gordy away. Hayes stood there dejected, only for Jimmy Garvin to appear, consoling Hayes in a touching moment between the former partners. Elsewhere, the new team of The Wild Stallions (Joey Maggs and Chris Benoit) continued there impressive run of victories with a win over The Journeymen (Al Snow and Chris Adams). There was also a decent amount of build towards The Outsiders versus Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock, as Nash and Hall cut a series of promos making fun of the Shooter Club leftovers. Nash was able to score the pin. Finally, The Heavenly Bodies took on The Rock N Roll Express in a match with the newly debuted Jimmy Del Ray in their corner. Del Ray accidentally cost Stan Lane the match, but afterwards put the loss on Stan in self-defence. The final night of the penultimate round of 1994 opened with Powerhouse Simmons making his way to the ring with Kevin Sullivan and Missy Hyatt following behind him. Meanwhile, Rick comes out with brother Scott, and JR talks about how it's good that the Steiners have dropped that she-devil Missy Hyatt and while they didn't succeed in the Grand Prix this year, they will likely be getting back to their roots and tearing up the tag team division in 1994. Schiavone talks about how Simmons' recent aggressiveness has resulted in him nearing a relegation spot, and if he isn't careful he'll lose his spot in the Premier Division. Rick started off decent, dumping Simmons over the ropes and barking at the crowd. Simmons shrugged off support from Sullivan and while the two bickered, Rick took advantage by grabbing Simmons and sending him crashing into the guardrails. Rick follows it up with an overhead throw that sends Simmons splatting against the mats on the concrete floor. The early advantage doesn't last too long, as once the action gets back into the ring, Simmons fires back with a series of clotheslines. Simmons slams Rick with a powerbomb, and Rick is reeling. Simmons follows up with two straight Spinebusters, but doesn't go for the pin, as he seems determined to hurt Rick now. Simmons picks up Rick and hits a second powerbomb and Rick is pretty lifeless. Sullivan jumps up on the apron with a steel chair and tries to convince Simmons to further hurt Rick (and get DQ'd in the process) but Simmons throws the chair to the outside and stares down Sullivan. Meanwhile, referee Randy Anderson is tending to Rick Steiner and calls for a stoppage due to knockout. Simmons charges past Sullivan and Sullivan seems confused as to why Simmons wasn't responsive to him tonight. Powerhouse Simmons (6-6-2) def. Rick Steiner (2-12-0) in 12:27 by referee stoppage. This was their first ever encounter in WCW's Grand Prix. Prior to his match-up against Takada, Rude sat down with Jesse Ventura for behind-the-scenes look at his journey to the top of the mountain. Emanating from Minnesota, Rude was a part of a high school class that also included several other future pro wrestlers, including Mr. Perfect, Nikita Koloff and Tom Zenk. Rude says he was always destined for greatness, as he was the best looking of the group, the most athletic, and everyone was always jealous of him. From there, he went on to train to become a professional wrestler, trained by Eddie Sharkey - Rude says that Eddie told him he was the greatest student Eddie ever had, which irked Ventura who was also trained by Sharkey - and was the head of his class. Now, here in WCW, surrounded by some of the greatest names wrestling has ever seen, he stands to prove he is the greatest wrestler in the world. Rude comes to the ring alone, with a new theme song playing behind him. His entrance is more self-indulgent than normal. Takada comes to the ring with Player Enterprises (Bam Bam Bigelow, Terry Taylor, Great Muta, and Teddy Long) and the two men stare each other down. Rude talks smack but Takada is unwavering and as soon as the bell rings, Takada with a heavy front kick that knocks Rude on his ass. Rude is in danger early as Takada jumps on him and tries to lock in a single leg crab, and then an armbar and Rude flees the ring. Rude avoids a countout and then annoys Takada as he's slow to re-enter the ring. Takada gets impatient and Rude blatantly pokes him in the eye. Referee Nick Patrick admonishes him, and Rude says he was just trying to grapple. Rude backs Takada into the corner and then rakes his eyes to a chorus of boos from the fans. Takada is struggling to see as he goes to the floor and Teddy Long helps him out with a bottle of water. Teddy argues with Nick Patrick, and Rude is trying to force a fast count-out. Takada gets back in and the two go back and forth, with Rude constantly using underhanded tactics to gain advantages, but Takada keeps coming back with flurries of strikes and submission attempts. Takada has waist control, but Rude powers forward and is able to grab the ropes, forcing Takada to release. Rude dodges a roundhouse kick and, pokes Takada in the eye again and then rolls up Takada with an inside cradle. He grabs the tights and the ref doesn't see it! Three count! Rude continues his bid for first place! Rick Rude (11-2-1) def. Nobuhiko Takada (9-2-3) in 18:48 by inside cradle. This was their first ever match. Hyped as the main event of Round 14, the defending champion Sting took on 'Hollywood Blonde' Brian Pillman in their first ever one-on-one matchup. The only time these two have been on opposite sides of the ring previously was a tag team match during WCW's 1991 BattleBowl, where Sting pinned Pillman's partner. Sting sat down ahead of the match to discuss closing out 1993 against back-to-back members of the Horsemen in his effort to claim the Grand Prix championship in back-to-back seasons. Sting talked about his history with Ric Flair, and how his matches against Flair put him on the map, and that it's fitting that he has to defeat his greatest rival in order to claim his prize. Rick Rude interrupted the interview however, calling Sting a choke artist and stating that Sting couldn't beat Flair within the time limit the first time they faced off, what chance does he have with a 20 minute time limit? "A draw won't cut it, I beat you and have the advantage here, Stinger..." A separate major story leading to this match was that Sting and Hogan had challenged Player Enterprises to a match, which was accepted by Takada. However, as explained previously, Takada opted to choose Great Muta as his partner rather than Bigelow, as Bigelow was extremely beat up after his war against Vader. At Halloween Havoc, Sting and Hogan won when they had both their opponents in submission holds and Muta tapped out. Worth noting that Takada did not. After the match, Ric Flair came out and jaw-jacked with Hogan, who left the ring and slowly walked up the ramp towards Flair. Meanwhile, in the ring, Pillman and Austin attacked Sting and beat the hell out of him. Hogan was too distracted by Flair to notice, and when he finally realized what was happening behind him, it was too late. Hogan seemed to show some trepidation in going back to try and save Sting. Prior to Sting's match against Pillman, Hogan offered to be in his corner and Sting turned him down. Pillman attacked Sting during his entrance to kickstart the match on the outside. The two went all out with exciting offence. Sting's got the slight size advantage, but Pillman has the X-factor of his stablemates running distractions along the outside. Flair, Austin and their valet Woman are all making it difficult for referee Randy Anderson to maintain order here, but none of them are actively doing anything illegal. Every time Sting starts to mount some momentum, a distraction gets Pillman back in control. The two build up to a big spot on the turnbuckle, as Pillman gets dumped from the top rope to the floor, but is caught by Austin and Flair. Sting then flies with a massive crossbody, taking out all three heels. From here, Sting is off to the races with a flurry of offence that Pillman has no answer too! Sting locked in the Scorpion Death Lock and stared at Flair on the outside, telling him he's next. Pillman writhes in pain, but can't do anything to get out of the hold, and after Pillman realized he couldn't escape, he tapped out. Sting stands tall as Round 14 comes to a close with him in first place. Sting (12-2-0) def. Brian Pillman (3-8-3) in 15:41 by submission. This was their first ever Grand Prix match up against each other. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusHack Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share Posted October 31, 2023 ROUND 15 CARD Prediction Grid: Bam Bam Bigelow vs Larry Zbyzsko Rick Steiner vs Ricky Steamboat Nobuhiko Takada vs Steve Williams Kevin Sullivan vs Brian Pillman Powerhouse Simmons vs Lex Luger Scott Steiner vs Big Van Vader Rick Rude vs Arn Anderson Ric Flair vs Sting Contest Standings: Swinny : 0/6 - 0% Bigelow Cartwheel : 5/16 - 32% Old School Fan : 59/103 - 58% Vandal : 18/30 - 60% smw88 : 50/84 - 60% Nightshadeex : 68/113 - 61% DHK1989 : 72/119 - 61% Lord Byron : 78/127 - 62% KyTeran : 10/16 - 63% 1PWfan : 15/24 - 63% SonOfSharknado : 12/19 64% mmaaddict : 30/46 - 66% DinoKea : 31/46 - 68% Dawn : 3/3 - 100% Synopsis: This is it, folks! The final Round of the 1993 season! In the tag team division, the team of Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham (Lonestar Cowboys) have already secured the top prize, but both The Terrors (One Man Gang and Dan Spivey) and The Colussi (Stan Hansen and El Gigante) are tied for the second promotion spot. The Terrors have the head-to-head advantage from early in the season - will it be enough to walk away with the promotion, returning both men to the main event? In Division Two, a massive clash between the top two stars will determine a champion of the Division when Cactus Jack takes on The Great Muta. Meanwhile, Steve Austin could leap frog into the second promotion spot with a victory over Diamond Dallas Page - so long as Muta and Jack doesn't finish in a draw. And in the Premiere Division, two major matches will determine the champion of 1993. First Rick Rude needs to overcome Arn Anderson to keep himself in contention for the throne. Then, in the final match of the 1993 season, Sting takes on his greatest rival in Ric Flair. If Rude wins his match against Arn, Sting must defeat Flair to finish in first, a draw won't cut it. Speaking of Flair, The Horsemen promise to reveal their fourth member before the season comes to a close. Who will join the most illustrious stable in wrestling? And on top of that, after losing the top spot in the tag division, Scotty Flamingo has called for a public year end review of his staff in Flamingo Corp. What does Flamingo have up his sleeve heading into 1994? Lastly, Hulk Hogan has confirmed entry into the WCW Grand Prix. How does this affect the promotions and relegations for the 1994 season? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 My picks: Bam Bam Bigelow, Ricky Steamboat, Nobuhiko Takada, Brian Pillman, Lex Luger, Big Van Vader, Rick Rude, and Sting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSharknado Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 Bam Bam Bigelow vs Larry Zbyzsko Rick Steiner vs Ricky Steamboat Nobuhiko Takada vs Steve Williams Kevin Sullivan vs Brian Pillman by DQ Powerhouse Simmons vs Lex Luger Scott Steiner vs Big Van Vader Rick Rude vs Arn Anderson Ric Flair vs Sting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHK1989 Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 Bam Bam Bigelow Ricky Steamboat Nobuhiko Takada Kevin Sullivan Lex Luger Big Van Vader Rick Rude Sting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaCeLo3 Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 Bam Bam Bigelow vs Larry Zbyzsko Rick Steiner vs Ricky Steamboat Nobuhiko Takada vs Steve Williams Kevin Sullivan vs Brian Pillman Powerhouse Simmons vs Lex Luger Scott Steiner vs Big Van Vader Rick Rude vs Arn Anderson Ric Flair vs Sting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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