WCW From the Beginning

BATTLEBOWL: The Lethal Lottery (April 17, 1992)

It seems that the moment Sting regained the World Title at Superbrawl, the Dangerous Alliance made their intentions known they were coming after it. There was unfinished business there, and the Alliance was eager to finish it. US champion Rick Rude consistently challenged Sting, letting it be known that he took a title once from Sting, and he would do it again. 

All the while, the Alliance members have kept making life hard on old enemies including the Steiners and Dustin Rhodes. But now Sting has stepped up to join in the fight against the Alliance. It was announced that in May at Wrestle War, Sting will lead a group including the Steiners, Rhodes and Ron Simmons into War Games against the Dangerous Alliance. 

But first, WCW is presenting a special event tonight, Battlebowl: The Lethal Lottery. 40 WCW Superstars will be divided up into 20 tag teams drawn at random. There will be 10 tag team matches. The winning team of each match has its members advance to Battlebowl, a 20 man battle royal. 

Michael Hayes and Van Hammer defeated Jimmy Garvin and Nikita Koloff when Hayes pinned Koloff after a DDT in 13:06.

Rating: ** ¼

We didn’t have to wait long for the Lethal Lottery to produce its first wild pairings. Long time Freebird partners Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes were match AGAINST each other. Fans though got a kick out of the two partners going at it at different points. 

Hayes and Hammer were able to work much better as a team than Garvin and Koloff and that proved the difference. After the match, Garvin raised the hand of Hayes and Hammer. 

Wayne Bloom and Arn Anderson defeated Dustin Rhodes and Firebreaker Chip when W. Bloom pinned Chip after a powerslam in 16:48.

Rating: *** 1/4

Two of WCW’s toughest, Bloom and Anderson, clicked very well. Bloom was more than glad to help Anderson try to take out one of the Dangerous Alliance’s biggest adversaries in Rhodes. 

Sting and Abdullah The Butcher defeated Richard Morton and Johnny B. Badd when Sting pinned Morton after an inside cradle in 8:03.

Rating: ** 3/4

This was just a mess from the beginning. Abdullah didn’t seem to understand he was supposed to be Sting’s partner as before the match began, he attacked Sting with his cane. It took Johnny B. Badd, actually their opponent in the match, to come to Sting’s aid. 

Abdullah didn’t stick around for much of the actual match, but despite being shorthanded, Sting took advantage of miscommunication between Morton and Badd to get a roll up victory. 

Tracey Smothers and Larry Zbyszko defeated Flyin' Brian and Thomas Zenk when Zbyszko pinned Brian after a swinging neckbreaker in 9:44.

Rating: ** 3/4

Once upon a time, Flyin’ Brian and Tom Zenk were United States tag team champions. However, those days are long gone. Zenk tried to force Brian to follow Alexandra York’s game plan for them, but Brian was having none of it. 

While Brian was in the right, Zenk began yelling at him from the apron trying to tell him what to do. Brian responded by dropkicking Zenk off the apron. Zenk and York then left, leaving Brian on the wrong side of a 2-on-1. 

Scott Steiner and Ron Simmons defeated Diamond Studd and Mike Enos when S. Steiner defeated Studd via pinfall in 15:24.

Rating: ** 1/2

Steiner and Simmons will be on the same side next month at War Games, and worked well together tonight. It also gives Sting some backup in tonight’s battle royal against the Dangerous Alliance, who already has 2 members advancing with three more still to compete. 

Diamond Dallas Page and Vinnie Vegas defeated Todd Champion and Marcus Alexander Bagwell when Vegas pinned Champion with the Snake Eyes in 6:18.

Rating: ** 1/4

DDP, typically a manager, got back in the ring but as fate would have it, he got matched up with his charge, Vinnie Vegas. The 7-foot tall Vegas helped lead Page to the next round. 

Big Van Vader and Paul Orndorff defeated Steve Armstrong and Terry Taylor when Vader pinned Taylor with the Vader Bomb in 6:28.

Rating: ** 1/2

We hadn’t seen Vader since his loss to Sting for the title at Starrcade, but after spending some time in Japan, Vader is back and this time is under Harley Race’s guidance. Orndorff didn’t even get in the ring, content to let Vader decimate their opponents all by himself. 

Cactus Jack and Brad Armstrong beat Rick Steiner and Thomas Rich when Armstrong pinned R. Steiner in 4:12

Rating: * 1/2

It seems any match with Cactus Jack in it is destined to get wild. Someone apparently forgot to tell Abdullah the Butcher that he wasn’t partnering with Jack tonight. That didn’t stop him from attacking Armstrong with a cane before the match and trying to take his place. 

This brought Johnny B. Badd and Van Hammer out of the back to try to fight off Abdullah. While the referee was trying to get everyone not involved with the match to the back, Jack took the opportunity to attack Rich on the floor. At Least he was involved in the match. 

All the while, Rick Steiner was watching from the ring, oblivious to Arn Anderson sneak attacking him and hitting him with a DDT. By this time, Armstrong crawled into the ring and covered Steiner for the pin. Looks like Anderson and the Alliance succeeded in getting another one of Sting’s partners out of the battle royal. 

Bobby Eaton and Ricky Steamboat defeated Junkyard Dog and Mr. Hughes when B. Eaton pinned Dog with the Alabama Jam in 12:50.

Rating: ***

Somehow, Eaton and Steamboat were able to work well together, putting past issues aside to help them get the win. Sure they had some issues, but were able to still post a win and advance. 

Rick Rude and Steve Austin defeated Tim Horner and Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker when Austin pinned Sgt. Parker with the Stun Gun in 3:54.

Rating: * ¼

The final two Dangerous Alliance members were fortunate enough to draw each other as partners. Together, they ran through Horner and Parker really quickly, keeping themselves fresh for the Battle Royal. 

16-Man Battle Royal:

Rick Rude won a 16-man Battle Royal in 37:43.

       Rating: *** ¾ 

Some of the biggest threats made surprisingly quick exits, but maybe it wasn’t so surprising the way people ganged up on people such as Abdullah the Butcher and Vinnie Vegas. Michael Hayes and Van Hammer kept their teamwork going from earlier and got rid of Abdullah. A trio of  wrestlers all teamed up to get Vegas out. 

The Dangerous Alliance, with all five members participating in the Battle Royal, aimed to take total control. They worked as a unit to help keep each other safe and take out some big names such as Ricky Steamboat and Cactus Jack. 

The first crack in their armour came as Arn Anderson and Scott Steiner eliminated each other on a double clothesline. Even though one of their toughest rivals went out as well, the Alliance was proven not to be invincible. 

While some of the bigger wrestlers were ganged up on and knocked out early, one who dominated was Big Van Vader. The beast threw out several wrestlers all by himself and got himself into the final five. 

Nearing the end, there were two Dangerous Alliance members left in Rick Rude and Steve Austin, two of their War Games opponents in Sting and Ron Simmons, and Vader. 

It was shown that even the fiercest of enemies can be brought together against a common threat. In this case, all four remaining wrestlers worked together to get Vader out. 

Then it was time for a showdown. 

Sting and Rude faced off, as did Austin and Simmons. Austin struck first, backdropping Simmons out of the ring. But as he took a minute to trash talk the just-eliminated Simmons, Sting came from behind and threw Austin out. 

It was the World Champ Sting against the US Champ Rude. The two old rivals brawled and Sting seem poised to take out his top challenger. Sting hit a Stinger Splash in the corner on Rude, then whipped him across the ring and went for another. Only this time, Rude caught Sting and used his momentum to carry him over the top rope.

Sting tried to fight him off and get back in, but Rude grabbed Sting’s neck and dropped him on the top rope, snapping Sting off the apron giving Rude the win. 

Card rating: ** ¾  

CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XX (June 16, 1992)

Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher and The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip and Todd Champion) battled to a double countout in 5:25.

Rating: * ½

The 20th Clash of the Champions opened with a wild affair. The ring quickly couldn't hold Cactus Jack, Abdullah and the Patriots. But the fight wasn't limited to just them. Johnny B. Badd, who's had problems with Cactus Jack and Abdullah recently, he's teamed up with Ricky Steamboat and those two came down to join in the fight against Cactus and Abdullah. 

At the same time, York Foundation members Rich and Morton entered the fray to blindside their recent rivals, the Patriots. 

Flyin' Brian pinned Thomas Zenk after a Victory Roll in 12:03.

Rating: *** 1/2

Flyin' Brian got revenge on his old partner, although went dirty to get it. He low-blowed Zenk before rolling him up for the win. 

Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes wrestled to a time limit draw in 20:00.

Rating: *** 1/2

(Steve Austin retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)

Austin hasn’t been stopped since he won the TV title back in September. But Rhodes came as close as anyone has to taking Austin’s title away. If the match was five seconds longer we might have had a new champion as the time limit expired right after Rhodes hit a bulldog, but before he could go for the pin. 

The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) and Dick Slater defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) and Van Hammer when W. Bloom pinned J. Garvin with the Butterfly Suplex in 0:12:43.

Rating: ** 3/4

The Freebirds and Van Hammer seem like a match made in heaven. The Fabulous ones will meet The Destruction Crew for the US titles at the upcoming Beach Blast PPV. But the champs have an extra man in their corner, as former Freebird Terry Bam Bam Gordy arrived to join against his former friends. He said this version of the Freebirds have turned into Hair metal wannabees and abandoned the true Southern Rock roots they made their name with. But Gordy said he never cared for the showboating, all the dancing. He just wanted to beat people up and said Hayes and Garvin are making a mockery of The Freebird name. 

Marcus Alexander Bagwell pinned Paul Orndorff with the Fisherman Suplex in 8:24.

Rating: * 3/4

Bagwell scored another win over Paul Orndorff, proving his last win was no fluke. This time, however, Orndorff cheap shotted Bagwell after the match. He was seemingly trying to end the rookie's career before it even got started. Luckily, Barry Windham made his return and chased off Orndorff. Windham said Orndorff is one of the reasons he's not still world champion and was ready to get revenge. 

Diamond Dallas Page and Vinnie Vegas defeated The Young Pistols (Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong) when Page pinned

T. Smothers with the Diamond Cutter in 18:12.

Rating: ***

Diamond Dallas Page has shown he’s committed to making the transition from simply a manager, to a wrestler. His team with Vinnie Vegas is looking like a formidible one as they scored an impressive win tonight. 

Arn Anderson pinned Scott Steiner with the DDT in 11:35.

Rating: *** 3/4

Only a couple days before meeting in a World Tag title match, Anderson and Scott Steiner met 1-on-1. Anderson got his team some momentum going into their challenge with a clean win. 

NON-TITLE MATCH

Sting defeated Bobby Eaton by disqualification in 19:16.

Rating: *** 1/4

[Paul E. Dangerously interfered against Sting.]

This idea of this match was purely to soften Sting up before his world title defense against Rude at Beach Blast. Eaton seemed to have no intention of winning the match at any point, only to inflict as much damage as he could. But as soon as Sting was getting set to finish off the match, the rest of the Alliance ran in to jump Sting.

Thankfully, the Steiners, Rhodes and Ron Simmons were close behind to keep it a fair fight. 

Rick Rude pinned Ron Simmons with the Rude Awakening in 14:37.

Rating: *** 1/2

(Rick Rude retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)

It was thought Simmons might catch Rude looking ahead to his title match with Sting and not take his US title defense tonight seriously. But Rude was up to the challenge, wethering an initial storm of Simmons’ power offense. 

Paul E. proved to be the decisive edge, catching Simmons in the head with his phone when the ref wasn’t looking, leading to a Rude Awakening.