Scout's Picks Reviews
Definites: Regal vs. Finlay, Rhodes vs. B. Buck, Austin vs. Rhodes, Regal vs. Bulldog
Possibilities: Benoit vs. Raven, Steamboat vs. Orndorff, Vader vs. Bulldog
. Arn Anderson vs. Johnny B. Badd (Uncensored `95)
In my opinion this was the the breakout feud for Badd, which took him from a decent young
wrestler to a solid midcard who was very carriable. I've only seen a few "boxer versus
wrestler" matches and 9 times out of 10 they are in the dropzone. While this event got horrid
reviews and it was bad, I thought this match was really a piece of work. They use great
psychology and the lack of DQs turns this into a really fun match with "Double A" busting out
the heel tactics. The ending is kind of cheesy and puts boxing over wrestling, but I guess it
perpetuates the feud. I can't really rate this because of the style, but it's a fun match with
some cool stuff, including top notch color from Bobby Heenan.
Rating: n/a
. Vader vs. The Guardian Angel (Bash at the Beach `94)
Two excellent big men of the early 90s in of my favorite big man feuds to date. They use
all the hard-hitting that you'd want and get great heat. The Angel shows a lot of power and
Vader pulls out one of his great efforts to make this a fun brawl and then some. The finish has
always bugged me, but it works to continue the feud.
Rating: ***1/4
. Vader vs. Jim Duggan (Starrcade `94)
I know everyone has an opinion of "Hacksaw," but I think he did his job well and was a
helluva entertaining brawler. Him beating Steve Austin was crap, but it did set up for this
match and Vader's short US title reign. Vader meets Duggan in the aisle, but gets caught, then
Duggan storms into the ring and we relive the Duggan-Race feud of `87 for a second. Duggan is
as stiff as you'll ever see him and it gets the crowd going. Vader's offense is right there and
the Hacker is willing to put it over strong, but is constantly getting in hope spots. It has
some bad slow spots, but overall it's an excellent effort for both men. Alright finish, but it
should've been clean. I think these two could've had a great feud in another lifetime.
Rating: **3/4
. Vader vs. The Guardian Angel (Halloween Havoc `94)
Vader confronts Sting and Muhammed Ali at ringside and he says Ali is "the man" in a very
non-heel move. After the Angel jumps Race and slaps Vader a few times the brutality begins
with the bigger man just pounding to the tar out of the Angel. Race shows just how tough he is
taking a few more bumps before Vader is slammed on him! Both get high impact offense with some
hot nearfalls before a cool finish. The Angel goes after Race yet again and suplexes him into
the ring, but Vader splashes him upon impact and gets the win. Yet another war between these to
big boys and you've gotta enjoy it.
Rating: **3/4
. Lord Steven Regal vs. Sting (Great American Bash `96)
Another WCW filler that really paid off, if only WWF had that mentality at some point.
Regal and Sting had a short build with his Lordship backhanding Sting in a vignette that nobody
that saw it forgets. The last Sting match I thought was excellent and this is one of Regal's
best matches. Sting brings his energetic brawling and natural charisma, while Regal busts out
his great facials and a fantastic moveset including: a sweet dropkick, a Super Butterfly Suplex
and a boatload of submission holds. This shows you how excellent Sting really is, selling a
beating like Ricky Morton and having a well done comeback leading into the finish.
Rating: ***3/4