WCW Wrestle War 1989: Music City Showdown
by Scrooge McSuck
- If you recall, the last time we were aboard the NWA Train, it was for the 6th Clash of the Champions, featuring one of the greatest matches I have ever seen, a tag title switch featuring the fastest fast count in the history of fast counting, and... well, a whole lot of really bad crap that will not be mentioned in specific detail. Wrestle War's only notability is the third and final match in the series for Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair, but let's see what else we've uncovered in this little gem...
- Broadcast live, on Pay-Per-View, on May 7th, 1989. We're coming to you from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, TN. Jim Ross and Bob Caudle are calling the action. I would like to point out that 25-minutes of the PPV is dedicated to a live performance by the Oak Ridge Boys. No, I don't know who that is, and no, I don't know why nearly HALF AN HOUR of a wrestling PPV was dedicated to it. And people question why WCW was always losing money and fan interest?
Doug Gilbert vs. The Great Muta (w/ Gary Hart):
No more than two minutes prior, this was being promoted as Muta vs. the Junkyard Dog, but either way, who really cares? Doug Gilbert's claim to fame in wrestling is probably being Eddie Gilbert's brother. Sorry, when it's getting over dressed as a horror movie character, I don't consider that much of a successful career. Nor do I consider it dressing up as the evil version of the Patriot. Muta does his pre-match ceremony, but Gilbert tries to interrupt, unsuccessfully. Muta throws Gilbert out of the ring, and sends him into the ring post. Back in the ring, and Gilbert comes off the ropes with a cross body and a clothesline, sending Muta out of the ring. Back in the ring, and Muta rakes the eyes. Muta with a snapmare, followed by a snap elbow drop. Whip to the corner, and Muta with a springboard elbow. Muta slaps on the nerve hold, but Gilbert fights free. Gilbert with a shoulder block, then slams Muta face-first into the canvas. Muta rakes the eyes again, and puts Gilbert down with a back breaker. Gilbert rolls away from the moonsault, but Muta lands on his feet, and sends Gilbert out of the ring with a dropkick. Eddie Gilbert has made his way to the ring, for whatever reason. Muta with a pescado, then takes it back into the ring. Muta with a back breaker, and the moonsault lands, and it's a three count at 3:05. * Nothing more than a squash match. Bob Caudle is impressed by Muta spitting green mist at the beginning of the match, then red mist at the end.Ranger Ross vs. "Hacksaw" Butch Reed:
Why must I suffer through a Reed match on every one of these shows? And it's not like he didn't have a good opponent in at least one of those. I expect this to be somewhere between awful and bad, depending on how much time it gets. Ross is lead to the ring by some dorks in various forms of military dress. Lockup, and Ross quickly takes Reed over with a side headlock. Irish whip, and a shoulder block doesn't do much. Criss-cross sequence, and Ross with a hip toss. Ross yanks Reed from out of the corner, then slaps on another headlock. Whip to the corner is reversed, and Reed comes charging with a clothesline. Reed with a snapmare, and a rake of the eyes. Teddy Long has made it to ringside with a pad and pencil, scouting the match for whatever reasons. He's been fired from his duties as referee since the last Clash of the Champions, for the obvious reasons. Back to the action, and Reed boots Ross in the head, then plants him with a slam. Reed drops a series of elbows, then covers for a two count. Chinlock applied by Reed, and yes, he uses the ropes for leverage. Ross tries fighting free, but Reed yanks him down with a handful of tights. The referee finally sees the cheating and forces a break. Irish whip, and Ross snaps Reed over with a headlock, then hits him with some "martial arts". Ross with several dropkicks, knocking Reed out of the ring. Ross hops over the top to the floor, then sends Reed back into the ring. Reed cheap shots him coming through the ropes, then brings him back in the ring with a suplex. Reed heads to the top rope, and he nails his diving shoulder tackle. That gets a three count at 6:58, to my surprise. DUD Total crap. After sitting through so many of these NWA shows, it amazes me how lazy of a wrestler Butch Reed was.Bullrope Match:
"Capt. Redneck" Dick Murdoch vs. Bob Orton Jr. (w/ Gary Hart):
Did we really need a rematch from the Clash of the Champions between these two geezers? They tug on the rope a lot, and Murdoch punks Orton out with the bell, but misses on the real swing. Murdoch pounds away with rights, but misses another bell shot. Orton with knees to the midsection, then takes it out of the ring, where we get more slugging. Orton tries running, but Murdoch yanks him back and rams him into the ring post. Back in the ring, and Murdoch whips him with the rope. Orton with boots, then rams Murdoch across the back with the bell. We take a long pan of ugly chicks in the crowd, then shoot back to the "action", Orton covering for a two count. Jim Ross constantly says this won't be scientific, one of his many ways to warn us this match will blow. Murdoch takes his boot off and whacks Orton across the top of the head with it. Whip to the corner, and Murdoch with another shot with the boot, then covers for a two count. Irish whip, and Orton catches Murdoch coming with an elbow between the eyes. Orton heads to the top, but Murdoch yanks him down and hog ties him. Murdoch drops a series of elbows, then covers for three at 5:02. 1/4* Total stinker, but that finish was kind of amusing. Gary Hart comes in to beat up on Murdoch, and Orton comes to his managers aid, bashing Murdoch with the bell. So, does this mean the feud is far from over? Will we be seeing this again in the near future?
The Dynamic Dudes vs. The Samoan Swat Team (w/ Paul E. Dangerously):
(Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace vs. Samu & Fatu)I'm not looking forward to this match, but after sitting the last couple of matches, this is like anticipating Flair vs. Steamboat in comparison. Then reality hits, and I hate everyone in the fucking match, so that's my luck. The Dudes run to the ring with skateboards in hand... and quickly, we've established why this team didn't get over. Not only were pretty boys not exactly the most popular act in the south, but they're running around with props that they can't even use, making them total posers, too. I wonder if anyone broke one of those boards over their heads in a pre-match beat down. I hope so. Fatu and Ace start with a lockup. Fatu pounds away, but Ace unwisely slams the face of Fatu into the canvas. Ace with slams to both SST, then takes Fatu over with an arm drag and applies an armbar. Douglas tags in and works the arm. Irish whip, and Douglas surprises Fatu with a dropkick. Samu tags in and works Douglas over. Irish whip, and Douglas jumps onto Samu's shoulders and takes him over with a victory roll. Ace tags back in, and comes off the top rope with an axehandle. They continue working the arm of Samu, doing nothing much of note. Fatu gets a blind tag, then takes Ace's head off with a reverse crescent kick. Irish wwhip, and Fatu nails him with a short clothesline. Whip to the corner is reversed, but Samu quickly takes Ace down, and the SST double team him. Samu with a spinning kick with little enthusiasm behind it, then applies a chinlock. Fatu comes in with an axehandle, then chokes and applies another chinlock. Whip to the corner is reversed, and Ace takes Fatu over with a back drop. Fatu swats away a dropkick attempt, and Samu tags back in to continue to punish the Dynamic Dud. Samu with a sidewalk slam, but it only gets a two count. Irish whip, and Fatu takes Ace over with a powerslam for another two count. The SST continue to dominate the match, but there's just not a whole lot going on. Samu with a leg drop and cover for another two count. Samu changes things up, clamping on an arm pit hold. Ace fights free with elbows and slams Samu's face into the canvas. Samu prevents the tag and... something sloppy happens. Samu slaps on a Boston crab to try and salvage whatever the hell that was. Jim Cornette gets on the house mic' and tells Ace he's as useless as a woman from Nashville, TN. Ace monkey flips Samu and gets the hot tag, and Douglas is a house of fire. Douglas with dropkicks for everyone. Irish whip is reversed, and Samu kills Douglas with a clothesline. Fatu heads to the top and nails a splash, but Ace breaks the cover. Ace dropkicks Douglas on top of Fatu, and THAT gets the three count at 11:04. Talk about an anti-climactic finish. *1/2 Remember how in a recent review of a Clash of the Champions I noted how the NWA/WCW worked tag matches with a different formula from the one WWF fans are familiar with? Total WWF formula tag match here.
- We get a special video presentation for the World Heavyweight Title. I only mention this, because it's just a bunch of clips set to Encore's "Final Countdown", complete with a... you guessed it, final countdown. Now there's a perfect example of an 80's song if there ever was one to single out as being one. I love how they show a hype video for the PPV DURING the actual fucking PPV, as if someone would be enticed to buy something they already ordered.
[Note: This is where the concert eats up time, and forgive me for skipping terrible country music.]
NWA United States Championship Match:
"Total Package" Lex Luger © vs. Michael "P.S." Hayes (w/ Hiro Matsuda):
Talk about a one-sided match. Seriously, other than a "surprise" heel turn during a tag team match, what the hell has Hayes done to deserve a championship match? He does come to the ring to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird", which is always awesome, but that still doesn't make him a true contender to the championship. Hayes does some strutting to start, and that gets the crowd riled. Lockup into the corner, and Luger teases a cheap shot, but gives in to the angel on his shoulder, like the pussy he is. Hayes slaps on a headlock, then comes off the ropes with a cross body for barely a one count. If only Teddy Long were the referee... Hayes slaps on another headlock. Luger goes for a powerslam, but Hayes counters, then takes Luger down with a sloppy Russian leg sweep. Lockup into the corner, and Luger with a slap. Hey, Teddy Long is at ringside, once again. Lockup into the corner, and Luger blocks a cheap shot and slaps again. They slug it out, with Luger winning that battle, then takes Hayes over with a back drop. Hayes with a boot to the midsection and elbows across the back of the head. Hayes rams Luger into the buckles and unloads with rights. Irish whip, and Hayes with a diving clothesline. He calls for the DDT, but Luger escapes, and Hayes rolls out of the ring for another breather. Hayes works the stall, and it's hard to suck at doing that, right? Luger slaps on a wristlock and jerks the arm around, then changes into an armbar. Irish whip, and Hayes fails miserably at a sunset flip. Luger takes him over with an arm drag, then clamps on another armbar. Jim Ross must be bored, because he's shilling the Wrestling Hotline. Back to the action, and Luger puts Hayes down with a back breaker for a two count, then goes back to working the arm. Hayes takes it to the corner and unloads with chops. Whip to the corner, and Luger no-sells a clothesline. Irish whip, and Luger with a choke lift and throw into the corner. Luger with mounted punches, followed by a clothesline. Luger goes for a cross body, but Hayes ducks, and Luger spills to the arena floor.
Hayes follows out and clubs Luger across the back. Hayes with more strutting, because that's all he does well. Hayes brings Luger back in the ring with a suplex, and covers for a two count. Hayes slaps on a chinlock as I rapidly grow bored with this match. Luger fights free with elbows to the midsection. Hayes surprises Luger with a bulldog, but that only gets a two count. Hayes tries for another cover, then slaps the chinlock on, again. Hayes with a rake of the eyes, then dumps Luger out of the ring. Matsuda gets some cheap shots in while Hayes distracts the referee. Back in the ring, and Hayes with a slam, followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Hayes with a series of fist drops and applies another chinlock. Luger fights back to his feet, once again. Luger blocks being rammed to the buckle, and sends Hayes into it instead. Hayes goes for a bulldog, but Luger lets him fly solo. Luger with mounted punches in the corner, followed by a hip toss and clothesline for a two count. Irish whip, and Luger with a press slam, then another one, just for the hell of it. Luger calls for it one more time, and yep, he does it to him one more time. Luger teased throwing Hayes over the top rope, but decides not to, because he's a dork. Luger goes for the Torture Rack, but Hayes counters and connects with the DDT! Slugest, and we get an INCREDIBLY weak ref' bump as the two bop heads. Suddenly, Terry Gordy comes in, shoves Hayes on top of Luger, and the referee makes the three count at 16:29?! Michael Hayes is the winner and NEW United States Champion! *1/2 Sloppy and disjointed at times, with the only real sense of psychology being Luger toying around with Hayes, taking him too lightly for most of the match. Probably one of the more shocking title changes of the time, before swerves became a normal thing.
NWA Television Championship Match:
Sting © vs. The Iron Shiek (w/ Rip Morgan):
This show just keeps getting better and better. The Iron Shiek suddenly gets a title shot on a PPV? At least it's one of the more least important belts in the company. Sting won the Television title on April 1st, ending Mike Rotunda's second and (I think) final reign as Champion. Shiek demands to be introduced as a FORMER World Champion, just because he's living in the past, and it's only 1989. It's 2011 now, and he still does it! Morgan cheap shots Sting, and the Shiek uses the flag pole on Sting behind the referee's back. Shiek chokes Sting, then rams him into his goofy boot. Sting no-sells Shiek's crappy punches,and what's with the black hair on the back of his head. Irish whip, and Sting with a clothesline. Lockup, and Sting with a side headlock. Shiek takes Sting over with a gut-wrench suplex for a two count. Irish whip, and Shiek connects with a clothesline. Sting whips Shiek to the corner, and follows in with the Stinger Splash. Scopion Deathlock time, and it's all over just like that at 2:11. Talk about taking care of business. I don't think Sting broke a sweat for this match. 1/2* Just because I like Sting too much, and it wasn't the worst two-minute match I've ever seen.
World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat © vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair:
It's now time for the rematch to the rematch, which saw Steamboat retain the championship at Clash VI in what some might consider controversial fashion. We've got three judges at ringside for the match, just in case, in the forms of Lou Thesz, Terry Funk, and Pat O'Connor. Steamboat, as he has done in his previous appearances facing Flair, comes to ringside with his family, and this time his son gets to take a pony ride at the same time, all while decked out like a miniature Honkytonk Man. Aww... Steamboat is such a wonderful family man. Flair, on the other hand, has an entourage of about 50 women, all ready to take a ride on space mountain, no doubt.
Lockup into the ropes to start, and Flair gives a clean break. Lockup, and Steamboat snaps Flair over with a quick arm drag. Flair struts and claims a hair pull, just for the hell of it. Lockup, and Flair with a side headlock, followed by a shoulder tackle. Steamboat takes Flair over with a deep arm drag, then applies an armbar. Flair takes it to the corner, and we get a slap fight, won by Steamboat. Flair retaliates with a "Woo!". Lockup into the corner, and Flair with a forearm to the chest, followed by a sickening chop. They trade rights and chops, with Steamboat taking control. Flair ducks a high chop, but Steamboat continues to rip the flesh off of Flair's chest. Whip to the corner, and Steamboat with a back drop, forcing Flair out of the ring in the process. Back in the ring, and Flair grabs a headlock. Steamboat turns away and starts turning it into an over-hand wristlock. They fight for control until Steamboat brings Flair down, then slaps on an armbar. Steamboat drives a series of knees into the shoulder, then turns it into a wristlock. Steamboat drops elbows across the arm before reapplying the hold. Irish whip, and Steamboat with a shoulder block, followed by an arm drag and back to the armbar. Flair fights back to his feet and Steamboat turns it into a hammerlock. Flair counters and takes Steamboat down with a drop toe hold. Steamboat reverses from a waistlock, and goes back to the hammerlock, then half-nelsons Flair into a pin attempt, getting a one count. Flair counters a wristlock with chops, but Steamboat won't let go of the arm. Irish whip, and Steamboat sweeps the legs from under Flair, then goes back to the hammerlock. Flair takes it into the corner to force a break, then drives a forearm across the face. They tade blows, with Flair taking control of the situation, working over the midsection of the Dragon. Steamboat fights back, putting Flair down on the canvas, and clamping on the armbar, again. Steamboat bridges over with the armbar applied, and that's certainly a unique way of making the hold more exciting. Flair scoops Steamboat up onto his shoulders and sets him up across the top turnbuckle. Flair plays possum, but fails at an ambush, and Steamboat takes him out of the corner with a hip toss. Steamboat connects with a dropkick, sending Flair over the top rope to the floor. Steamboat teases a top rope manuever, but referee Tommy Young talks him down.
Back in the ring, and Flair goes to the midsection with a series of boots. Irish whip is reversed, and Steamboat goes back to work on the left arm of Flair. Irish whip, and a shoulder block by Steamboat. Flair catches Steamboat coming off the ropes with a hip toss, then misses an elbow drop. Steamboat takes him over with his signature deep arm drag, and back to the armbar. Flair takes it into the corner for a break, then drives a shoulder into the midsection of the champion. Flair with chopsand short rights to the jaw. The judges are in favor of Steamboat at this point of the match. Flair takes Steamboat from corner to corner, chopping him like there's no tomorrow. Steamboat fights back, but Flair rakes the eyes. Irish whip, and Flair with a shoulder block, then he dumps Steamboat out of the ring. Steamboat lands on his feet, runs back in, and quickly traps Flair in the corner, and unleashes with a fury of chops to the top of the head. Whip to the corner, and Flair flips up and gets caught in the tree of woe, allowing Steamboat to take some unfair shots at him. Steamboat slaps on a headlock, then puts Flair down with a shoulder. Steamboat bounces off the ropes, and Flair takes Steamboat over the top rope under his own momentum, allegedly. Flair follows out and boots Steamboat across the back of the head, then chops him over the security rail, into the front row. Flair grabs a chair, but the referee talks him out of it. Flair with another chop, followed by an elbow across the throat. Steamboat starts fighting back from the crowd as Flair goes to the well one too many times, then comes back in the ring with a top rope chop. Steamboat slams Flair face-first into the canvas, then whips him into the corner. Flair lands on the apron, and Steamboat knocks him down with a chop. Steamboat with a snapmare, then slaps on another armbar. Steamboat rubs his knee across the elbow of Flair, then goes to a wristlock. Irish whip, and Steamboat goes for a cross body, but Flair ducks, causing Steamboat to spill over the top rope, landing on the floor. Flair with an elbow to the face, then brings Steamboat back into the ring with a sling shot. Flair comes out of the corner, dropping a knee across the forehead of the Dragon. Flair jerks Steamboat back to the center of the ring, and drops him with a series of chops. Flair chokes, then takes Steamboat down with a back suplex for a two count. Flair tries pinning the arms down again, for several more near falls. Flair heads to the coorner, and measures up for another knee drop. Flair takes Steamboat over with a double-arm suplex, and covers for another two count. Flair goes to the corner again, and drops an elbow across the chest for a two count. Flair mouths off to the referee, but goes back to work with chops. Irish whip, and Flair drops Steamboat throat-first across the top rope, but a pin attempt is futile, as Steamboat is in the ropes. Flair chokes with while arguing with the referee. Steamboat surprises Flair with a chop, but Flair heads out of the ring and sweeps the legs from under Steamboat. Flair brings him out, and takes Steamboat over with a suplex on the floor.
The judges are starting to turn in favor for Flair, according to the latest updates, but Steamboat is "ahead on points". Flair tries to suplex Steamboat back into the ring, but Steamboat counters and rolls Flair up for a two count. Irish whip, and Flair with a cross body, taking both men over the top rope, and back to the floor. Flair tosses Steamboat back in the ring, but takes his time to re-enter, himself. Flair heads to the top rope, and Steamboat slams him off. Steamboat mounts Flair for more chops to the head. Whip to the corner, and Steamboat with a back drop. Flair boots Steamboat from the corner, but Steamboat counters a back suplex, and school boys Flair for another two count. Flair grabs a front facelock, but Steamboat powers him up onto the top turnbuckle, then takes him over with a super-plex! Steamboat slaps on the double-arm chicken wing, but Flair hooks the ropes with his leg to force a break. Steamboat rams Flair to the buckle, then heads to the top rope. It's a long way to go, but he comes off with a big chop to the top of the head. Steamboat heads to the top rope again, but this time Flair falls into the ropes, causing Steamboat to fall to the floor, and he's selling an injured leg as a result of it. Flair goes after the leg as soon as Steamboat hops onto the apron, then brings him back into the ring with a delayed suplex. Flair jerks the hamstring of Steamboat's left leg, then slaps on the Figure-Four to a pretty impressive babyface reaction. Steamboat struggles his way to the ropes, but almost gets counted down in the process. The referee forces a break, but Flair goes right back to working the leg over in the corner. Flair drives a series of knees into the left leg of Steamboat. Steamboat chops in retaliation to Flair slapping away on the left knee. Steamboat finally puts Flair down with an enziguri, but he's a weeble wobble at this point. Steamboat with a slam, but Flair counters with a cradle, and the three count is academic at 31:33, giving Flair his 6th reign as the World Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Steamboat raises the arm of Flair before taking off, allowing Flair to celebrate his newly won championship in the ring by himself. Jim Ross comes in the ring to interview Flair immediately afterwards, and soon, so is Terry Funk. He congratulates Flair on winning, but wants a title shot. Flair blows him off, and Funk in turn beats the ever loving piss out of Flair, setting up the newest program over the World Title. ***** Without taking the post-match shenanigans into consideration, just another masterpiece that's really hard to describe, because everyone else has already done it. While I enjoyed the Clash match more, this seemed like a perfectly suitable follow-up match, with some of the psychology from that one carrying over, and just felt like a totally different match without going outside of the realm of their usual performances.
NWA World Tag Team Championship Match:
The Varsity Club © (w/ Kevin Sullivan) vs. The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering):
(Mike Rotunda & Steve Williams vs. Hawk & Animal)YOUR Special Referee for this contest is a returning Nikita Koloff, who kind of only returned long enough to referee this match. He would be in the AWA by the end of the year, feuding briefly with Larry Zybyzko over their "World" Title. This is a follow-up to the controversial title change from the previous Clash of the Champions, which saw the LOD lose their titles thanks to them manhandling a referee, and said referee in return making the fastest three count imaginable. The Varsity Club has a bunch of cheerleaders with them, but it's the 80's, so it's mostly ignored by the broadcast team. It's a brawl to start, before the introductions are completed, and the LOD sends the Varsity Club out of the ring. Back in the ring, and Hawk clotheslines Williams out of the ring, and Animal boots Rotunda right afterwards. Animal and Williams lock up into the corner, and Koloff prevents a cheap shot. Sullivan objects, and Koloff ejects him from ringside immediately. Animal slaps on a headlock, then bowls over Williams with a shoulder block, followed by a clothesline. Williams has words with Koloff, and Koloff gets up in his grill. Rotund tags in, and is quickly over-powered by Animal, but catches Animal coming off the ropes with a dropkick. Rotunda heads to the top rope, but Animal catches him with a powerslam, then connects with a clothesline for a one count. Hawk and Williams tag in, and Williams slugs away. Irish whip, and Williams with a slam, but he misses an elbow drop. Hawk with a slam and a fist drop, and Williams heads out of the ring. Hawk follows, and comes off the apron with a clothesline. Hawk goes for another, but this time wraps his arm around the ring post. Rotunda rams Hawk into the ring post, and we finally get back in the ring. Irish whip is reversed, and we get a double clothesline spot. Both teams tag, and Animal nails Rotunda with an atomic drop and dropkick. Irish whip, and Animal with a diving shoulder block. Hawk comes in to brawl with Williams. Rotunda flies over the top rope on a clothesline attempt, and it's a double clothesline to Williams. Doomsday Device time, but Sullivan and Spivey pull Koloff out of the ring and it's a brawl. Meanwhile, in the ring, the Varsity Club with a double clothesline on Animal. There's a wild brawl outside the ring, while inside, the Warriors take control. The bell rings at 6:13, and Koloff declares the Road Warriors the winners by Disqualification. * The usual garbage brawl between these two teams, except less exciting.
NWA U.S. Tag Team Championship Match:
The First Family © (w/ Missy Hyatt) vs. The Varsity Club:
(Eddie Gilbert & Rick Steiner vs. Kevin Sullivan & Dan Spivey)According to Jim Ross, this was originally supposed to include a stipulation involving haircuts, but it was dropped, because someone decided to make a last-minute booking change, I guess. What's with the rehash of Clash of the Champions matches? Seriously, we saw these two title matches on the last show, and I can guarantee, with so little time left, that this match isn't going to be long. Sullivan sucker punches Gilbert before the bell, and hammers away. Spivey takes Steiner out of the ring, and it looks like Steiner is clutching his ribs, possibly because of an injury? Spivey rams Steiner's shoulde rinto the ring post over and over again, but the camera misses most of it. In the ring, Gilbert pounds away on Sullivan. Sullivan and Gilbert trade rights, with Gilbert taking control. Whip to the corner, and Sullivan boots Gilbert charging in. Spivey tags in, and Gilbert heads outside to check on Steiner. Back in the ring, and Glbert uses his speed to make Spivey work for it. Sullivan jumps Steiner from behind, just because he can. Gilbert escapes a slam attempt and unloads with rights on Spivey. Gilbert heads outside again to check on Steiner. Sullivan rams the arm of Steiner into the post again. Spivey rams Gilbert into the buckle, and Sullivan tags back in to keep the preasure on. Spivey choke lifts Gilbert then slams him back to the canvas. Irish whip, and Spivey connects with a dropkick. Spivey puts Gilbert in an over-head back breaker, but Gilbert counters with a back drop. Sullivan tags in and puts Gilbert down with a running knee lift. Spivey comes off the second rope with a double axehandle. Irish whip, an Spivey with a sidewalk slam for a two count. Irish whip, and Spivey with a big boot. Spivey chokes Gilbert across the top rope, then Sullivan gets his shots in. The crowd is really not too into this one. Irish whip, and Spivey with another sidewalk slam. Sullivan tags in and slaps Gilbert around. Steiner gets the surprise "Hot" tag, but the referee didn't see it! Steiner clotheslines Sullivan out of his shoes anyway, and Gilbert covers him for the three count at 6:30. Sullivan and Spivey continue to work over the champions, and Spivey uses a chair on Steiner. Missy Hyatt gets in the ring, but Gilbert chases Sullivan off before he can do anything to her. Meanwhile, Spivey has an armbar clamped on Steiner. Okay? * Just an okay match. I don't understand the purpose of this being last on the show. I know it was the NWA/WCW's thing to feature World Title matches earlier in the card for time limit considerations, and then having stand by matches, but all of this stuff could've been move down and they could've ended the show with Sting squashing the Shiek, or something. Oh, the United States Tag Titles would disappear after this show.
- Jim Ross OFFICIALLY announces that the board of directors have stripped the Varsity Club of the World Tag Team Championship for their actions handling the referee in the manner that they did. We also do NOT have an update on Ric Flair's medical condition, but we do get a slow-motion replay of Funk piledriving Flair on top of a table.
Final Thoughts: The definition of a one-match show. I don't know if I would give this show a strong recommendation for just the one match, because everything else really sucked. I guess it's worth a mild recommendation when you weigh everything together, but don't expect to see much in terms of great in ring action, save for about 30-minutes of the show. You'll instead see a lot of odd booking decisions and a piss-poor undercard.
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