WCW 1994: Week 6 Up!

WCW CHAMPIONS:

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WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair
WCW International World Champion: Rick Rude
WCW United States Champion: Steve Austin
WCW World Television Champion: Steven Regal
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Nasty Boys


FACES:
The Four Horsemen - "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson
Sting
"The Natural" Dustin Rhodes
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
"Flyin'" Brian Pillman
The Boss
Road Warrior Hawk
Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne
Johnny B. Badd
Marcus Alexander Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio
"The Z-Man" Tom Zenk
The Cole Twins - Keith Cole and Kent Cole
Ice Train
Erik Watts
Brad Armstrong
Terry Taylor
"Jungle" Jim Steele

HEELS:
Vader
"Ravishing" Rick Rude
The Nasty Boys - Brian Knobbs and Jerry Saggs
Pretty Wonderful - "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and "Pretty" Paul Roma
Harlem Heat - Kane and Kole
Ron Simmons
Tex Slashinger and Shanghai Pierce
"Beautiful" Bobby Eaton
Michael "P.S." Hayes
"Diamond" Dallas Page
Bryant Anderson
The Equalizer
The Colossal Kongs - Awesome Kong and King Kong

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
December 29, 1993

WCW is changing, so says an internal, unnamed source.

"We can't do the kiddie crapas well as the WWF, we don't have the production, and most of all, our fans don't want that. Vader versus Flair actually did the most business out of anything we did all year. Why wouldn't we want to replicate that model? Hard hitting matches, believable characters, back to basics wrestling."

"We don't want to turn heaven and earth to get the little kids. Because we don't have to. If you want the kids, you hook their big brothers. If someone was 10 years old for Andre-Hogan, they're 16 now. What we're offering, and what the WWF is offering, they don't want that. They don't want Cheatums the Midget, they don't want The Shockmaster, they want something cool. And we think we can give it to them. We get the 16 year olds, and we get their 10 year old brothers."

"We're going to be phasing out some of the worst gimmicks. We're going to be introducing some new talent. Hard hitting badasses the people will want to see. We're going to do more marquee matches on WCW Saturday Night, and try to do some completely innovative stuff on our other shows. This might fall on it's face, but we're going to try."

I'm looking forward to this!

OOC Note: WCW Worldwide used the exact same matches as the Power Hour. Because of this, I'm only keeping one, and it's the Power Hour.



WCW POWER HOUR

- Chris Cruise and Larry Zbyszko open the show. They talk about the Starrcade results, including new World Champion Ric Flair, who will be in today's featured contest.
- Ricky Steamboat defeats the Equalizer. The Equalizer's slow, prodding style could not keep up with the Dragon, who went to the air to finish off the big man with a splash.
- In the Starrcade Control Center, Mean Gene goes over the results of the pay per view, including Flair's title win, Stunning Steve Austin winning the US Title in two straight falls, and the Nasty Boys cheating to retain the World Tag Team Titles.
- Rick Rude defeats Brian Armstrong. Rude declares himself the "only World Champion in WCW" before the match, then squashes the youngest Armstrong brother, putting him away with a Rude Awakening.
- Highlights are shown of Ric Flair defeating Vader and winning his eleventh World Title.
- Sting defeats Nasty Ned. Ned might be Nasty, but he was no match for the Stinger. During the match, Schiavone and Taylor promote Sting's non-title match tonight on WCW Saturday Night with new United States Champion Stunning Steve Austin. Sting puts Ned away with the Stinger Splash and the Scorpion Death Lock.
- For the WCW Flashback, highlights are shown of Ric Flair defeating Harley Race for the NWA World Title at Starrcade '83.
- Ric Flair defeats King Kong. Kong is a massive man with Harley Race in his corner, but that didn't make him Vader, as the new World Champion stayed out of Kong's grasp, and was able to knock him down and lock on the Figure Four for the win!
- Cruise and Zbyszko put over tonight's WCW Saturday Night show, which includes Sting facing Stunning Steve Austin, Lord Steven Regal defending the World Television Title against the Z-Man, and Ron Simmons facing Johnny B. Badd!

WCW SATURDAY NIGHT

- Ron Simmons defeats Johnny B. Badd. Simmons was not liked at all by the crowd here, and he had no qualms about taking every dirty shot in the playbook. When Badd went for a Top Rope Sunset Flip, Simmons ducked, then caught Badd with a Spinebuster when he got to his feet. As Simmons celebrated, Ice Train made his way down to the ring to try to get some explanation from Simmons for slapping him weeks ago. Simmons responded that he didn't owe Train an explanation, and slapped him again! As the former World Champion was about to leave the ring, his former partner pulled him back and punched him! The two brawled as referees separated them.
- Dustin Rhodes defeats The Claw. The former United States Champion had fire in his eyes and beat the Claw easily, putting him away with the Bulldog.
- Mean Gene interviewed Dustin Rhodes. He says that he knows he's not the only one gunning for the new United States Champion, but he thinks he should get the first shot!
- The Starrcade Control Center with Mean Gene was shown again.
- Vader defeats Kenny Kendall and Scott Studd. The former World Champion was given two men here, and he just destroyed them. You had to feel sorry for these two, as they were no match for Vader, who pinned Kendall after a powerbomb.
- Harley Race and Vader talked to Mean Gene. Vader says that Flair should enjoy his victory, because it's going to be short. He is the man that fears no man and feels no pain. Race officially challenged Flair for the title.
- Lord Steven Regal defeats The Z-Man to retain the WCW World Television Title. Although Zenk put up a good fight, between Sir William's involvement and Regal's technical skill, the Lord was able to retain the TV Title easily, with a big gutwrench suplex for the pin.
- In pre-recorded comments, Brian Pillman says that for weeks now, he's been trying to appeal to Steve Austin as his former friend and partner, but that's over now. Now, he's ready to fight. Anytime, anywhere, Austin. They are no longer friends, and he'd better keep a watch over his shoulder, because when he's least expecting it, Brian Pillman will be there.
- The Boss defeats Diamond Dallas Page. Fresh off his controversial loss to Rick Rude at Starrcade, the Boss here went to work on DDP, beating him pillar to post. While Page is a very promising newcomer, he was no match for the Boss, who used the Boss Slam to put him away.
- A locker room interview with Ric Flair from Starrcade was shown. Mean Gene asked him about the win, and Flair said that he might have returned to WCW months ago, but only now, does it feel like he's back home again. Flair teared up a little as some of the people celebrating with him, Sting, Arn Anderson, Flyin' Brian, Ricky Steamboat all started chanting "Flair!" Flair excused himself to go rejoin the party.
- Pretty Wonderful defeat Terry Taylor and Erik Watts. Taylor and Watts had never teamed before, but they seemed to do fairly well here, however, the masked Assassin being in Pretty Wonderful's corner was what turned the tide. Much like at Starrcade, he put some kind of object in his mask, and gave young Watts a headbutt, allowing Roma and Orndorff to get the win. After the match, 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell, along with their manager Teddy Long, came down and tried to show the referee the cheating, however, they ended up brawling with Pretty Wonderful!
- A music video for Sting played, showing highlights, set to "A Man Called Sting".
- Before their match, Mean Gene caught up with Stunning Steve and Colonel Parker. He mentioned that both Dustin Rhodes and Brian Pillman seemed to have his name on their list, and Austin's response was that if they both wanted a piece of him, he'll give them a chance. He'll find a partner at the Clash of the Champions, and he'll let them make their case to see who will face him for the United States TItle. But he's the champion, and he's going to pick his own contender!
- Steve Austin defeats Sting in a non-title match. During the match, Schiavone and Ventura announced the main event for the Clash of the Champions later this month. Sting will team with World Champion "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair to take on Vader and International World Champion "Ravishing" Rick Rude! Austin cheated his way to a victory here over the Franchise of WCW. They wrestled a very technical match that the crowd was eating up, until Austin appeared to be up against a wall, and Colonel Rob Parker interfered. Flyin' Brian came out from the back to stop this, and as the referee was distracted with these two on the floor, Stunning Steve grabbed his US Title belt and used it as a weapon, nailing Sting in the head with it. He covered the Stinger and got the win!

WCW MAIN EVENT

- Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne defeat Tex Slashinger and Shanghai Pierce. During the match, Tony Schiavone and Larry Z put over that there is an announcement later in the show with Jack and Payne concerning this month's Clash of the Champions. While Tex and Shanghai are a very tough team, if you're looking for tough, it doesn't come any tougher than Jack and Payne, and they put away the Texans with a big elbow from Cactus.
- Bryant Anderson defeats Larry Santo. The rugged Anderson, a second generation star with an old school approach, made quick work of Larry Santo here, finishing him off with an armbar.
- In pre-recorded comments from Vader, Harley Race, and Rick Rude, they promote the Clash of the Champion main event. Rude is better than Sting. Vader is better than Sting. Rude is better than Flair. Vader is better than Flair, so when they team up, Flair, the paper champion, and his pal Sting have no chance!
- Mean Gene is in the first Clash of the Champions Control Center. He promotes the matches that have been signed so far. In the main event, Sting will team up with World Champion Ric Flair to take on International World Champion "Ravishing" Rick Rude and Vader! In another tag team match, United States Champion Stunning Steve Austin will team with a mystery partner against two men who both want the next shot at the title, Flyin' Brian Pillman and "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes! The Nasty Boys will defend the World Tag Team Titles against Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne! Ice Train will take on his former mentor Ron Simmons! And 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell will face Pretty Wonderful in a Starrcade rematch where both Teddy Long and the Assassin are banned from ringside!
- Road Warrior Hawk defeats Chris Sullivan. The facepainted man from the rough side of Chicago faced little opposition from Sullivan, who he was able to put away easily with a top rope clothesline
- Road Warrior Hawk was talked to outside the ring by Tony Schiavone. He asked about his new year's resolutions, and Hawk said it was the same as every year. To kick butt and win titles! It doesn't matter if it's the World Title, the United States Title, the TV Title, or the Tag Team Title, if you've got gold, Hawk wants to tell you to keep on your toes!
- The Nasty Boys defeat Thunder and Lightning. Thunder and Lightning might be strong and have great physiques, but the Nastys showed there's something to knowing how to fight, and how to cheat here, as they came out on top in this non-title match. Saggs hit a top rope elbowdrop on Lightning to secure the victory.
- Tony Schiavone stops the Nasty Boys at ringside. He asks them about the challenge of Payne and Cactus, and they say there isn't any, that those punks might think they're tough, but they don't know Nasty tough. Jack and Payne interrupted them, and despite Missy Hyatt screaming at them to leave the Nasty Boys alone, they brawled over the ringside area.
- Highlights of last night's main event were shown, where Stunning Steve shocked everyone and pinned Sting, but did so by using his US Title as a weapon!
- Harlem Heat defeat the Kole Twins. Nobody could tell which Kole was which, so Kane and Kole (of Harlem Heat) just beat them both up. Kane hit a big powerslam on Kent Kole, and that was all she wrote for the Main Event.

WEEKEND OF 1/8-9/94

WCW POWER HOUR

- Chris Cruise and Larry Zbyszko open the show. They hype last week's WCW Saturday Night main event, where Stunning Steve cheated to defeat Sting in a non-title match. Both men will be in action, with Austin being in tonight's featured contest!
- Ricky Steamboat defeats the Equalizer. The Equalizer's slow, prodding style could not keep up with the Dragon, who went to the air to finish off the big man with a splash.
- In the Clash of the Champions Control Center, Mean Gene goes over the five matches that have been announced so far, adds a sixth, as a debuting John Hawk will face The Z-Man Tom Zenk, and then confirms a title match will be announced tonight on WCW Saturday Night!
- Bobby Eaton defeats Ron Oates. The rough and tough veteran Eaton just toys with Oates, who was in way over his head, putting him away with an Alabama Jam.
- A pre-taped interview is shown with Ric Flair officially accepting Vader's challenge, but upping the ante. In order to keep Harley Race out, why not put the match in a cage?
- Sting defeats Ricky Santana. Sting came out and looked determined, after what happened last week. The announcers speculated that he was going to send a message to his opponents at the Clash, and he sure did here, making Santana submit to a Scorpion Death Lock.
- For the WCW Flashback, highlights are shown of Stunning Steve Austin defeating Bobby Eaton for the WCW World Television Title from 1991.
- Steve Austin defeats Cactus Jack. While this was not a title match, and Jack's primary focus has to be the Tag Team Titles, Schiavone and Taylor acknowledged that a win here would put Jack at the top of the list for a future US Title Shot. This was a great brawl, that was unfortunately marred by interference. When Rob Parker interfered, the Nasty Boys hit the ring and hit Jack with a steel chair, allowing Austin to grab a handful of tights and get the win. After the match, a three on one was cut short when Maxx Payne and Flyin' Brian hit the ring, fighting them off!
- Cruise and Zbyszko put over tonight's WCW Saturday Night show, which includes a six man tag based on what you just saw, as the Nasty Boys will team up with Stunning Steve to take on Cactus Jack, Maxx Payne, and Flyin' Brian. We'll also see Sting face Mr. Wonderful, Paul Orndorff, and Tex Schlasinger and Shanghai Pierce will face Thunder and Lightning!

WCW SATURDAY NIGHT

- Sting defeats Paul Orndorff. A huge match to kick off the show. Orndorff's biggest singles match in WCW to date, he could not get an advantage on the Franchise of WCW, the Stinger. When The Assassin tried to get involved, Bagwell and Scorpio stopped him from doing so, which in the commotion, allowed Sting to hit the Stinger Splash on Mr. Wonderful, and put him away with the Scorpion Death Lock.
- Terry Taylor defeats Mike Winner. Terry Taylor was too much for Winner here, who after a flying forearm, maybe should have been called Mike Loser.
- Mean Gene interviews Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne, who talk about the six man tag team match later tonight, and promise that the Nasty Boys and Stunning Steve have one hell of a fight in for them!
- In the Clash of the Champions Control Center, Mean Gene goes over the announced matches, including the John Hawk match announced earlier today on the Power Hour. In the latest match announced, in a rematch of Starrcade, Lord Steven Regal will be defending the World Television Title against former champion Ricky Steamboat!
- Ice Train defeats Ricky Tango. Going into his big match at the Clash with the former World Champion Ron Simmons, the massive Ice Train looked good here, pinning Ricky Tango after a Powerslam.
- Harley Race and Vader talked to Mean Gene. Vader says that Flair should enjoy his victory, because it's going to be short. He is the man that fears no man and feels no pain. Race officially challenged Flair for the title.
- Tex Schlasinger and Shanghai Pierce defeat Thunder and Lightning. The rough Texans were too much for the "pretty boys" as Tex and Shanghai called them. This was more of a squash than you'd expect, and Shanghai got the pin cleanly on Lightning after hitting an inverted DDT.
- Highlights were shown of this morning's main event, which is setting up tonight's main event later on.
- Vader defeats The Shockmaster. In this match of big men, Vader showed why he is a monster, not only pinning The Shockmaster after a Vader Splash, but then attacking him after the bell to the extent paramedics needed to come down and make sure he was okay.
- While the EMTs were helping Shockmaster, Vader and Harley Race spoke to Mean Gene, telling him that at Slamboree, they get Ric Flair in a Thundercage match. Race strongly hints that Flair might not even make it to Slamboree, because he and Sting will still have to get past Vader and Rude at the Clash!
- Ricky Steamboat defeats Bryant Anderson. Steamboat had many tough matches with Anderson's father in the 70s and 80s, and his son put up a decent fight, but Bryant is still young and Steamboat's experience ended up being the difference maker, as he was able to hit a big splash for the win.
- Mean Gene interviewed former World Tag Team Champion Shane Douglas, who announced that tomorrow night on the Main Event, he will be making his in-ring return to WCW!
- A music video played, showing Flair's numerous World Title wins, finalizing with his win over Vader at Starrcade.
- Steve Austin and the Nasty Boys defeat Brian Pillman, Cactus Jack, and Maxx Payne. This was chaotic. Ventura and Schiavone posed the question, if Pillman pins Austin here, does it make him the rightful number one contender to the US Title? In the end, the question didn't matter, because with Hyatt and Parker, this was basically a five on three match. In the chaos, Austin was able to hit the Stun Gun on Payne and pick up the pin.

WCW MAIN EVENT

- Shane Douglas defeats Dallas Page. Douglas is a youngster with a bright future who hadn't been seen in a WCW ring in months, since losing the World Tag Team Titles he held with Ricky Steamboat to the Hollywood Blondes, but he's back as a singles wrestler. He had a solid match with Page, but was able to come out on top, hitting a Fisherman Suplex for the win.
- Harlem Heat defeat Chris Nelson and Brady Boone. Parker's rough and tumble tag team, Kane and Kole, just physically manhandled Nelson and Boone, allowing Kole to pin Nelson after a scissor kick.
- In pre-recorded comments from Brian Pillman and Dustin Rhodes, they said Austin has something they both want, but that doesn't matter. They have each other's backs against Austin and whoever Colonel Parker can find that is foolish enough to be his partner!
- Mean Gene with a repeat of last night's Clash of the Champions, going over the now finalized card.
- Johnny B. Badd defeats Tom Burton. Badd might be the self described "prettiest man in WCW", but he's a hard hitter too, beating Burton easily with the Kiss That Don't Miss
- Tony Schiavone interviews Badd at ringside. Badd talks about how he's pretty, he's bad, and he's destined for greatness in 1994!
- Brad Armstrong defeats The Equalizer. Equalizer here looked way out of sorts, and the crafty veteran Armstrong, although Equalizer had a major size advantage, was able to outwrestle the big man and hit the Russian Legsweep for the win!
- In pre-recorded comments, Ron Simmons says that much like the fans, Ice Train gives him no respect, and he's going to teach that punk kid some respect at the Clash!
- Highlights of last night's main event were shown, with Stunning Steve and the Nasty Boys cheating their way to victory over Flyin' Brian, Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne!
- Rick Rude defeats Tom Zenk. This was a non-title match, so Rude's International World Title was not on the line. You might not have believed it, though, from Rude's tenacity. He was able to put Zenk away fairly easily with the Rude Awakening.

WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
1/10/1994

John Hawk, who WCW announced is making his debut at the Clash, is John Layfield, a former World League football star who has been wrestling for about 18 months. He's got great size and ring presence, and impressed WCW officials in his tryout match.

The last round of TV tapings were said to be the last shows for Thunder and Lightning, the Shockmaster, and The Equalizer.

Look for WCW to rebuild the tag team division in the coming weeks. They've been looking at some tag teams from the independent circuit, some from Japan, and some from Mexico.

There has been a bit of an internal push to find some Mexican stars, in large part because of how well AAA and IWC have done in California and other border markets.

Shane Douglas returned to the company over the weekend. I feel he's a better heel, but it looks initially like he will be a babyface, as he was when he left the company last year.

WCW reached out to Rowdy Roddy Piper, but I've been told he prefers the WWF's offer.

There has been some talk about reviving the Light Heavyweight Title, although right now, save Badd, there really isn't anyone on the roster that size who would be a believable champion.

OK let's get started. First off I think the format could use a tweak, its all a bit unappealing and clustered at the moment. In terms of booking though its solid stuff. I like that you are making Austin a somewhat focal point and are really pushing him as you've giving him some big main event pinfall victories which is great, I'm interested to see what you do with him and who the mystery partner is. Like what you are pushing for the future with Vader/Flair in a cage match at Slamboree. Bradshaw in WCW is an interesting thing and I look forward to seeing what you do with him. Overall solid start with some nice build to CotC and the future, hopefully you can keep this up and get into the thick of things.