Slamboree 96
Well, THIS.....is Slamboree 96. And we have the dreaded Lethal Lottery, a tag team tournament in which the surviving teams would meet in an 8 man battle royal to decide who would be Lord Of The Ring. The winner of the battle royal would get a title shot at The Great American Bash the next month. The teams in the tag tourney were drawn at random, which is supposed to set up the idea of mismatches and mixed tag teams, so The Road Warriors and the Steiners would have to lock it up. We'll see how this goes. So, without further ado, here is YOUR matchlist........
Animal and Booker T vs. Hawk and Lex Luger
Public Enemy vs. Kevin Sullivan and Chris Benoit
Sgt. Craig Pittman and Scott Steiner vs. Booty Man and Rick Steiner
The Blue Bloods vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan and V.K. Wallstreet
Dirty Dick Slater and Earl Robert Eaton vs. Alex Wright and Disco Inferno
Diamond Dallas Page and Barbarian vs. Hugh Morrus and Meng
Big Bubba and Stevie Ray vs. Fire and Ice
Eddy Guerrero and Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair and Randy Savage
Dean Malenko vs. Brad Armstrong----Cruiserweight Title MatchRound 2 matches---
Dirty Dick Slater and Earl Eaton vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan and V.K. Wallstreet
Public Enemy vs. Ric Flair and Randy Savage
Diamond Dallas Page and Barbarian vs. Booty Man and Rick Steiner
Konnan vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger-----U.S. Title Match
The 8 Man Battle Royal
Giant vs. Sting-----World Title Match
Wooh, that's alot of matches......From Baton Rouge, Louisiana...........and YOUR hosts are Tony, Bobby, and Dusty
Animal and Booker T vs. Hawk and Lex Luger
This is the first round of the Battlebowl tournament, or Lethal Lottery, whatever you want to call it. And it seems that, through our "random" drawing, we have just happened to put an interesting combination of people who are either usual teams, hated enemies, or on opposite teams in every match.......interesting. BTW, Luger had taken a chokeslam by the Giant through a table the previous Monday on Nitro. And the Road Warriors on opposite teams, and both get good pops for their entrances. Luger and Animal start us off, and since they are both big, they go into tests of power. After a minute or so of walking around and trading lockups, Luger gets punches and kicks in the corner. He gets a whip and a powerslam, but Animal is right up and gets punches and kicks for himself in the corner. Bobby, referring to Luger----Luger is a wrestler, we don't go on the disabled list like whiny ballplayers. Hmmmm......ever think of trying out for an XFL job, Bobby? Whip and big clothesline by Animal, then a powerslam. Shoulderblock by Luger, but Luger comes back with a suplex, which is promptly no-sold. Animal gets a dropkick and the tag to Booker. Sidekick, then knees in the corner by Booker. Whip, Luger reverses, and Booker says hello to Luger's foot in the corner, followed by a clothesline. Luger gets kicks and a slam, but he misses an elbow. Booker gets SPINAMACARONI!!!!!.....I mean......SPINACHOONIE!!!!!. Whatever, and the sidekick for 2. Snapmare and chinlock to let Luger rest. How nice of Booker. Luger eventually powers out, but Booker hits the axe kick, but Hawk comes in to break the pin. Then logic goes all to hell as Luger gets up and pushes Hawk (why, he saved your ass), and Animal comes in, and The Road Warriors both pound on Luger. They start brawling on the outside, and both teams get counted out. * I am seriously dispointed that they didnt even tease us with an Animal/Hawk matchup, so right there that costs this match, which was the main intrigue, and it showed as the crowd wasn't really into it until the end when The Road Warriors teamed up to brawl against Luger and Booker. Both are DQed, and neither advances.
Public Enemy vs. Kevin Sullivan/Chris Benoit
I sense danger. Either PE will kill them with some sloppiness, or Benoit and Sullivan will kill each other without needing the assistance of PE. PE is the first of 3 teams that, "through the luck of the draw", just happened to be paired together. Rocco Rock and Chris start, and Chris is looking pissed. Rocco whips Benoit in the ropes, Benoit reverses, but Rocco gets a headscissors. Staredown and walking around, and a big pop as Benoit gives the 4 Horsemen sign. At least the fans know their role. Rocco gets another headscissors after a whip, and he stands over Benoit and does the cabbage patch dance. Dusty, on the mark, calls it "a little dipsy doo." Haha. I know some people don't like Dusty, but sometimes he is just hilarious. Whip by Rocco, but Benoit gets the (stealing one from Justin Baisden here) WILDBOMB!!!! Now Benoit stands over Rocco and does the cabbage patch. LMFAO. Sullivan comes in, and Chris and Kevin both gets some righteous asskicking on Rocco. On the outside, Kevin whips ROcco in the rail and post. Rocco manages to get Kevin on the previously set up table, and Johnny attempts the tope from the ring onto Kevin, but Benoit saves with a clothesline (a righthanded clothesline too, and possibly the weakest clothesline I've ever seen from Chris). Suplex attempt by Benoit, but Johnny reverses and suplexes Benoit to the outside. OUCH!! They get Benoit on the table now, Sullivan over, but instead of helping him up, he holds Benoit down on the table until PE can nail him, and that gets the 3. ** This was kind of like a car wreck, some nice damage, but ultimately ending up a mess.
Sgt. Craig Pittman/Scott Steiner vs. The Booty Man/Rick Steiner
If it wasnt for the Steiners, this would be your cigarette match (don't know if everyone thinks like us, but a cigarette match is one where you can go outside and have a smoke and know you won't miss anything.) Bobby mentions before the bell that he thought Kim had class when she was with Diamond Dallas, but since she's been hangin out with Hogan and Booty Man......well. I'll leave you to think of the appropriate follow up one-liners. Booty and Pit start. Nothing much happening to start, and the crowd is just waiting to see the Steiners. After a sequence with nothing of note, Scott gets the tag, who gets a hiptoss and a Tiger bomb. Pit and Rick get tagged in, and they trade some power until Rick gets a slam. Sloppy German suplex, and an armbar to let Rick recover from that. Whip, and Rick runs over Pit, and he crawls over to Scott. Scott pauses, then tags in, and the crowd is jacked. Lockup, and fireman's carry by Scott. Rick smiles. Side headlock takeover by Rick, and a series of mat reversals to establish equality. Scott gets a T-bone out of nowhere, and HERE WE GO. Whip by Scott, but Rick hits a big clothesline. Scott suckers Rick in by acting really hurt, and Scott rolls him up for 2. Scott gets a full nelson, and teases the dragon suplex, but standing switch by Rick into a full nelson. Now ,who the hell are we kidding here, there is no fucking way in hell he's gonna get OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!! DRAGON SUPLEX BY RICK!!!!! Me and Brandon are both out of our seats and jumping around like a couple fuckin idiots. I mean, when Chris Benoit does it, we respect it and are still awed by the skill involved, but......it's Chris Benoit, for God's sake. We're going nuts, crowd is going nuts. Wow. You expect that from Chris.....but Rick Steiner? We were both thinking that there was no way he was ever going to get that, and he surprised the shit out of us. Tony's call, BTW------"Oh, look at that," Way to sell it for him, Tony. Anyway, back to the match......Rick goes up top (!), but Scott gets a T-bone off the top, and Rick quickly tags out. Booty meets Scott's foot on the charge, and Pit gets tagged back, Pit and Booty immediately hit the armbar. Damn it, the crowd is superhot now, and they're gonna kill it. Scott gets back in and hits a slam, and Pit gets a crossarmbreaker. Booty gets the tag to Rick, and he gets a quick German suplex for the 3. *** Damn. It's such a shame that Booty and Craig Pittman had to be in this match, because the crowd was really eating up Scott and Rick in there. Without Booty and Craig's displays of armbars and headlocks that just killed the crowd, and maybe just a couple more minutes, this was definite **** territory.
The Blue Bloods vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan/V.K. Wallstreet
Steven Regal rules the freakin world! USA chant to start, as always in a Duggan match. Boy, if he hadnt cornered the market on that, his career would have ended in 2.793 seconds. Regal is hilarously perfect as always. Shaking his fist toward the crowd...."If I I were you, I'd keep your bloody mouth shut, because I'll be out to give you some of that sunshine." Haha. Once again, another normal tag team was randomly assigned to be a team here. Regal and Duggan start, and Jim does the one thing he can consisnently do.....HOOOOOOO!!!!!!! In response, Regal flexes. LMFAO!!! Regal gets a forearm to the back to start, but Duggan comes back with three big clotheslines. Tags to Squire Dave Taylor and V.K. They do some mat stuff. Duggan gets in again, and gets caught in the Blue Bloods corner, but Duggan cleans house, even taking out V.K. Ref looking on the outside, and Duggan tapes up the fist and nails Squire Dave to get the 3. 1/4*.
Nothing to see here.
Dirty Dick Slater/Earl Robert Eaton vs. The Dancing Fools
Disco actually gets some pops when he comes out. Alex and Disco were paired for a couple months in late 98/99, but I've always felt that WCW really missed the boat by pairing Disco and Alex only to have them fued over their dancing. Even here they looked like a decent team. They could have continued their singles matches, occasionally paired up and had good matches with no dissension between them, and THEN they could have fueded. They made them a team too late in their WCW careers, and then on top of misused the team. Of course, this is all in my own humble opinion. Anyway.......Disco and Slater start, and Disco gets a takedown, but of course he dances. Slater up, Disco gets an elbow, and Alex comes in. Drop toe hold by Alex, and Eaton is in. European uppercus by Alex, and he gets a hiptoss, dropkick, headscissors, and leg lariat (but not Dean's righteous one) for 2. Tag back to Slater, and swinging neckbreaker. Piledriver attempt by Slater is reversed, and Alex tags Disco, who is on fire. Everyone in now, and the Dancing Fools clean house (to a good pop too), but Disco dances, and Slater takes off his boot and nails Disco from behind for the 3. * No real comment on the match itself, only a question. Why the hell would you take off your boot to hit someone in the head......just kick the shit out of em. Whatever.
DDP/Barbarian vs. Hugh Morrus/Meng
Once again we get tag team members on opposite teams. Wow, WCW is really blowing the wad in the first round with this setup. DDP and Hugh to start, and DDP gets an eyepoke and shoulderthrusts in the corner. Hugh gets a shoulderblock off a whip that sends DDP outside, but he misses a pescado. The DDP spin clothesline (any clothesline where somebody catches your foot, spins you around and you get the clothesline will be called as such, at least by me, from now on) gets 2. Tags out to Barbarian and Meng. Kicks and chops by Meng. Shoulderblock by Barbie, and he gets kicks and chops. No-sells abound. Both no sell a double clothesline, but a big kick from Barbie sends Meng down. DDP comes in, and Barbie gorilla press slams DDP onto Meng. Not bad, but Tony just has an absolute orgasm over it. And he couldnt do that for Scott and Rick earlier.....shit. After Barbie misses an elbow, Meng gets a headbutt and Hugh is in. Slam, and a big elbow off the top. He goes up again, but DDP runs over and crotches him. Big belly to belly off the top by Barbie, but Meng breaks it up at 2. Confusion results, and Hugh hits No Laughing Matter (not called as such though) but it's broken up and all four are in. Meng and Barbarian both hit the Kick of Fear on DDP and Hugh, and get the double pin *1/2 Postmatch, the ref signals that DDP's foot was under the ropes, and that lets DDP and Barbie move on.
Big Bubba/Stevie Ray vs. Fire and Ice
Fire and Ice are of course Scott Norton and Ice-Train. Swiping this description from one of Scott Keith's rants, but if you've never seen Ice Train, just picture Scott Norton, turn him black, and add 20 pounds. It's a wonder that WCW didnt say that they were half-brother and their father was a traveling salesmen. Then, they could break out the Heat Mizer and Ice Mizer songs from that one Santa Claus cartoon (The Year Without a Santa Claus, I believe). Then it would be typical WCW. Better sense (and I use that term loosely) prevails. Stevie pounds on Scott to start, and gets a slam. Scott comes back with a whip and shoulderblock. He gets Stevie in the corner, and proceeds to hit him with what can only be considered "belly thrusts". No shoulders, or knees, or anything else, just Scott's belly. Scott has a taste of Stevie's boot on a corner charge, and feels the overwhelming power of a Stevie clothesline.......hey, gotta spice it up somehow. Big Boss Bubba Ray Traylor Man in with a right hand and splash. Spinebuster by Bubba, but Scott gets two clothesline and Ice Train in, to a HUGE pop. Nah, not really. Sorry. Slam and ass splash for 2. Double clothesline and both down, which is pathetic, since Ice has been in there about 20 seconds and that was the first move he took. Tag to Scott, and he face plants Bubba, but Stevie comes in, and is promptly clotheslined down by Scott. Whip by Scott, Stevie is knocked to the outside, and Fire and Ice hit a double shoulderblock on Bubba for 3. -*. This was pathetic, even by big slow guy standards. What else can be said? If you just love clotheslines and shoulderblocks, WATCH THIS MATCH!!!!!
Eddy Guerrero/Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair/Randy Savage
Woman and Liz are out with Flair. Now, if they actually wrestle, this will be a great match. However, Savage and Flair hate each other at this point, and Double A is the muthafuckin ENFORCER!!!! There is NO WAY that he is gonna cost Flair the match. That's what IV Horsemen are all about baby. Arn attacks Macho as soon as he gets to the ring, and Ric runs out and starts kickin the shit out of him too. Eddy wants to wrestle though, so he pulls Flair away, and gets punches and a dropkick. Flair gets Eddy in the corner, but Eddy fights out (he is the face here, after all). Flair begs off. Lockup, and Eddy gets punches, a back body drop, and two dropkicks. Thumb to the eye by Ric though, and he "tags" in Macho, and I use that term loosely. Actually, he nails him with an elbow and some punches until Macho just falls into the ring. Ric walks Eddy over to Arn, and Arn tags himself in. Arn proceeds to show Macho why he's the Enforcer, but Macho fights back. Shoulderthrusts and kicks in the corner by Arn, but he eats foot when Macho reverses the corner whip. Arn comes back with the big spinebuster for 2. Trading punches, and Arn maneuvers Savage into his own corner. Ric tags himself in, and lays in the chops to Savage. Eddy in again, and he calmly walks behind Flair and taps him on the shoulder, then pokes him in the eye. Big pop for that. Eddy with HUGE chops in the corner, leading to the Flair Flop and a dropkick by Eddy. Ric tries to hold onto the ropes to block a tornado DDT, but he can't and Eddy gets it. Savage finally recovers from his beating, and jumps Flair and lays into him. Ref and Eddy go over, but Arn turns Eddy around and gives him a DDT, and Flair rolls over and pins him as Arn drags Savage outside. **3/4 Postmatch, Flair and Double A just DESTROY Savage, and even Liz comes over and slaps the taste out of him. Arn hits a nasty DDT on the floor. They start to walk away, but Flair just has to get in a few more boots to Savage, and we get a 4 Horsemen pose. Couldn't end that segment any other way. Good match, but it was pretty obvious that Double A and Ric were gonna destroy Savage and Eddy was there to job. But this is still probably the highlight of the show.
Entertainment segment, as Gene Mean is with Angela, Melissa, and Kim, three fine young upstanding classy women who just happen to work at Hooters. Now, how the fuck did Gene manage to get these cushy assignments? Shit, I could do Genes' job, why not me? Still, Angela is pretty damn hot, and I mean that in the nicest way (after all, I'm not Gene The Pervert, who flirts with every woman in every segment). So Angela, if by some miracle of God you are reading this, don't be afraid to send an email to me. What....oh yeah, there's a reason for this segment, and it's to choose who is going to face each other in the second round of Battlebowl. Since Animal/Booker T/Hawk/Luger mess ended in a double DQ, Fire and Ice (why) wins an automatic bye to the battle royal.
Dean Malenko vs. Brad Armstrong Cruiserweight Title Match
Woo-hoo! We go from hot women, straight into righteous ass-kicking. Waistlock and various armbar reversals by both guys to start, until Brad gets Dean into an almost-Rings of Saturn. Gotta see to understand. Headlock sequence leads to an enziquiri by Brad. Shoulderthrusts by Dean, whip, but Brad gets a hiptoss, and a dropkick sends Dean out. Dean ponders exactly how to destory Brad. Let's see......Brad sent him out with a dropkick, so me and Brandon are thinking...KNEES!!! Dean gets back in, reaches for out for the test of strength, and......YES!!! Dean dropkicks him right in the knee, and Brad goes down like he's just been shot. Dean pulls him over to the post and rams the knee, and he goes to work. Slam, and Dean drops an elbow from the middle rope onto the knee. Kneebreaker, then a stepover toe hold by Dean. Kneedrop, on the knee. Dean puts Brad in the tree of woe, and dropkicks him in the knee. Sweet. Brad gets a surprise roll up, but Dean goes right back to the knee. Baseball slide right on the knee, then Dean goes into.......something. But it looks like it hurts. Brad eventually gets the ropes. Slam, and Dean trying the middle rope elbow again, but Brad raises the foot. Brad gets a slam and a missile dropkick. Brad puts the Cloverleaf on Dean, but Dean gets the ropes. Brad goes up top again, but Dean hits the fireman's carry into the gutbuster from the top (move # 627, as called by Bobby), and of course that gets the pin (move # 996) for the 3. ***1/4, can't go higher because the crowd wasnt into it until the last couple minutes, but a good workrate match nonetheless. Of course, Dean would put on a clinic of the first-order on how to work an arm in his match with Rey Mysterio Jr. the next month at Great American Bash.
Dirty Dick Slater/Earl Eaton vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan/V.K. Wallstreet
This is round two, and if you're counting, this is the 10th match so far. Bell sounds, and Duggan and V.K. slug it out. Idiots. Then Slater and Eaton prove they are stupider by actually attacking them. Right hands everywhere, and Eaton and Slater get whipped into each other. V.K. jumps Duggan again. Horrible side russian leg sweep gets two for V.K. on Slater. Back elbow by Slater, Eaton in, and V.K. gets a back body drop, and Eaton falls outside. Duggan nails him back in, and V.K. gets an abdominal stretch. V.K. reaches for leverage (or maybe a tag), but Duggan shakes his head NO. Either way, Duggan is stupid. Eaton escapes, and Duggan and Slater are tagged in, and Duggan hits everything that moves. Clothesline gets 2. Chinlock and rights by Duggan. HORRIBLE double shoulderblock spot knocks both men down. Both tag out, and Eaton gets a slam, but V.K. gets the Flair toss when Eaton goes up top. V.K. gets Eaton in the corner, and V.K "accidently" overshoots Eaton and hits Duggan in the face. Eaton ducks a second right, and V.K. nails Duggan again. Duggan hits back, and Eaton gets a schoolboy for the 3. 1/2 * Decent heat between Duggan and V.K., but not much else.
Public Enemy vs. Ric Flair/Randy Savage
Ric comes out, but Savage jumps him from behind before they ever get to the ring, so PE wins by countout.
DDP/Barbarian vs. Booty Man/Rick Steiner
Booty and DDP slug it out, and a right knocks DDP out. Tag to Rick, whip, and a fireman's carry/back body drop thing by Rick for 2. I can't decide what it actually was, and no sooner than I think it then Bobby is wondering the same thing. Dusty's answer'---"He used both there, way to be on top of that Bobby." And it actually came out without sounding condescending. I don't think any of them knew for sure. Rick gets punches, and DDP gets snake eyes in the corner. Tag to Barbie. Clothesline and big boot by Barbie, but Rick fires off a belly to back, then a middle rope belly to belly for 2. Whip, Rick lowers the shoulder, and Barbie gets a powerbomb outta nowhere for 2. False tag to Booty, and DDP lays into Rick. Corner whip, and a clothesline by Barbie, and Rick tags out. Booty gets high knee, but DDP breaks it up. Ref is turned, DDP drops another elbow, and Barbie gets the 3. * Rick had a couple nice moves, that's about it.
Konnan vs. Jushin Liger U.S. Title match
Mike Tenay, as always back in the day, comes out for commentary. Jushin bows to Bobby on his way to the ring. Haha. Konnan comes out looking like.....well.....like a piss poor Blue Blazer lookalike, except infinitely more pathetic. Liger has the kick-ass black and white on tonite, BTW. Armbars and reversals to start, with the Japan-like staredown at the end to establish equality. This isnt Japan, Jushin. Kicks, chops, snapmare, and a running senton by Liger, and Konnan rolls outside. Onoo lays in kicks, but Konnon just looks at him and starts chasing him. Liger rocks him with a baseball slide in the side of the head as Konnan is running, and follows with a pescado. Back in, brainbuster (not a very nasty one though) gets 2. Mat work, and Liger hits a crossarmbreaker. Konnan reverses into an STF-type move, but he's just rubbing the forearm in the side of the head. Tony mentions that it's almost a crossface, and I have to give him props there, because I'm thinking to myself that is what Konnan should do. I know he would get some respect back from me if he did a Crossface STF, but he doesnt, and transitions instead into a crossarmbreaker. Popular move tonite. Liger reverses, and gets a surfboard and camel clutch. Liger kicking, and goes for a half-crab, but he can't get Konnan over. Liger finally gets pissed and starts kicking Konnan's ass, as if he wasnt already. They exchange palm thrusts, and Liger gets the Koppo kick in the corner Superplex and flying splash get 2 for Liger. Dropkick sends Konnan outside. Liger goes up top and flies outside, but Konnan greets him with a dropkick. Konnan tries to suplex Liger back in, but Liger floats over and hits a belly to back. Stiff kick to the knee and fisherman buster get 2. Damn. Whip is reversed by Konnan, Liger tries to float over, Konnan catches his feet and sidewalk slams him for 2. Konnan goes for Splash Mountain, but Liger rolls over him for 2. Another rollup gets another 2 for Liger. Ligerbomb somehow only gets 2. Liger heads up top, but Konnan raises his feet this time, and hits Splash Mountain for the 3. ***3/4. A good match, and Konnan actually showed up and did something which is always nice. It's too bad that they were handicapped by being the 13th match on a long card though, the crowd wanted desperately to get into, and did at times, but not enough to get into **** territory for me.
Ric Flair, Arn, and the ladies come out to talk with Gene Mean. Flair starts going off on Savage. The stuff with Savage is kinda cliche, but when Mongo comes out and he gets to talking about Steve McMichael, he REALLY gets going, and I'm LMAO. "McMichael, you trying to tell.....the Nature Boy.....to back off. Well, I can't back off if I can't get your wife outta my back pocket." Ric tells Mongo to get any football player he wants, and of course, Mongo already has someone. Ric---"Who is it, Lawrence Taylor?" LMFAO. Of course, it was Kevin Greene. This would all lead to the tag match at Great American Bash where Mongo would turn on Kevin Greene and join the Horsemen. Rating=1 2 for 3 so far.
The 8 Man BattleBowl Battle Royal
Your final participants are: Scott Norton, Ice Train, Dick Slater, Earl Robert Eaton, DDP, Barbie, Johhny Grunge, and Rocco Rock.
I must say, looking at this field.......well, I think everyone can figure out that this doesnt look to be very exciting. You can eliminate someone by either throwing them over the top rope, or pinfall. Lots of boring standing around, as battle royals usually go in the beginning. DDP gets tossed over, and his feet clearly touch (and the ref is RIGHT THERE LOOKING AT HIS FEET!), but he pulls himself up as if it never happened to stay in the match. Do we need a bigger tip-off here? Rocco Rock goes out first, and Bobby Eaton soon follows him. Dirty Dick Slater apparently eliminates himself so that he can go outside, take his boot off, and hit Eaton in the head with it. IDIOT!! Not only does it not make sense, but he looks like a moron walking around with one shoe on swinging the other shoe in his hand. Scott Norton goes out, and Ice slams Barbie, Johnny, and DDP in succession. Ice and Barbie team up to clothesline Johnny, but DDP hits the Diamond Cuts all 3 guys. He pins Johnny first, rolls over and pins Ice, and then rolls over to pin Barbie.......but Barbie gets the shoulder up at 2, and that wakes up the crowd. The DDP clothesline misses, and Barbie hits a clothesline for 2. Back elbow gets 2 for DDP, and a schoolboy gets 2 again. Whip, but Barbie hits a forearm, and hits a NASTY tombstone which somehow only gets 2. Sleeper, but DDP nails him in the nuts. Bobby----"You see, DDP's knee got a double cramp in it, which caused his heel to come up." Haha. Bobby and Dusty have had a ton of good lines all night, too numerous to try to type here. Barbie comes back with a big powerbomb, but it only gets 2 again. Wow, now we definately know who is winning. Barbie heads up top, but he misses the flying headbutt. DDP hits the Diamond Cutter for the win. ** This was surprisingly not too sucky.....well, the battle royal portion was, but after it got down to 4 guys, then DDP and Barbie, it picked up interest considerably. What this match really needed was different participants. Fire and Ice? Public Enemy? If they gave Savage and Flair the bye after the first round, and they had to come out for the battle royal, THEN we would have seen some interesting fireworks. They could have eliminated each other, and DDP still could have won. DDP becomes Lord of the Ring, and gets a title shot the next month at Great American Bash........which would of course never happen, but what the hell, right? You pretty much build a whole PPV around the idea that the winner is gonna get a World Title shot, and it doesnt matter.
Giant vs. Sting World Title Match
Giant cuts a pretty useless interview before the match. This was setup because Sting wants REVENGE for Lex Luger. Luger is handcuffed to Jimmy Hart at ringside so Jimmy can't interfere. Circling each other to start, and I think the crowd realizes that it's the last match so they can actually leave when it's over and they better cheer. Both off the ropes, and Sting tries a crossbody, but Giant doesnt even budge. Forearm, and Sting jumps on his back for the sleeper, but Giant just shrugs him off. Two dropkicks and some forearms, but Giant just laughs at him. Sting rolls outside to consult with Luger. Waste of time there. Crowd is getting even hotter as Sting gets back in, and he hits an enziguiri. Sting tries to slam him, but he can't and Giant gets 2 when he falls on him. Big elbow drops from the Giant to put him in control. Giant just stands on him, and goes low for a headbutt to the groin. Choke with the foot. Giant gets Sting in a bodyscissors, and holds onto the bottom rope for leverage. Why? You're big enough, grab the top rope. Besides, you're 467, how much leverage do you really need? Giant starts kicking field goals on Sting, and tosses him outside. Giant grabs him and goes for a chokeslam through a table, but Luger is holding Jimmy Hart down on the table, so Giant drops Sting. Sting on the apron, and Giant tries to dropkick him off, but Luger pulls Sting out of the way. Ref over to check on Sting, but Sting accidently knocks him out with an elbow. Giant tries a splash in the corner, but Sting ducks, and hits two Stinger splashes on the Giant. Luger and Hart are on the steps, so Giant grabs Luger. Three more Stinger splashes finally makes Giant let go of Luger and knock him down. He calls for the Scorpion Death Lock, but he sees Jimmy on the apron and runs over to him, but Jimmy falls off the apron (Luger pulls him off?) and Sting misses. Still, he kicks the Giant in the neck and hits a top rope splash for 2. Another one, but the ref is out again. Sting gets the Scorpion Death Lock, but Luger and Hart are fighting over the megaphone at ringside, and Sting gets accidently hit in the head. Giant up, chokeslam, see ya. **3/4 Match was kinda slow in the middle, but the ending was not that bad.
Official Grade-- D. The PPV was the standard 2 hours 45 minute affair, but it just seems to drag on......and on......and on. I have the Malenko and Liger matches at ***, but those guys have done lots better many times. The rest of the matches didnt really stand out in any way at all. The absolute fatal flaw in this show is simple though----the whole premise was that the winner of the Battlebowl would get a shot at the world title at Great American Bash, but the lineup they presented as the final eight guys was just pathetic. You just can't have 8 heatless guys in the match the show was centered around. 15 matches total, a bad execution on the show centerpiece, and the fact that the Lord of the Ring never got his title shot pretty much makes this self-explanatory. Hall and Nash would soon show up on Nitro (the next night, if Im not mistaken) and proceed to change wrestling, so the only historical significance this show actually has is a before/after comparison. Before NWO.......After NWO.....any questions?