SLAMBOREE '97 (May 18, 1997)
Triangle Match:
Dean Malenko defeated Eddie Guerrero and Syxx when D. Malenko pinned Syxx in 16:40.
Rating: ****
Slamboree opened with a fantastic three-way Cruiserweight match. It looked like Eddie Guerrero would get the win after hitting Syxx with his frog splash, but Malenko came from behind, grabbed Guerrero and threw him out of the ring, then went for the pin on Syxx.
However, Syxx kicked out, but as Guerrero tried to get back in the ring, Malenko rammed Syxx into Guerrero, then rolled him up for the pin.
The Headbangers (Headbanger Mosh and Headbanger Thrasher) and Headbanger Shark defeated Bobby Eaton, David Taylor and Lord Steven Regal when Thrasher pinned D. Taylor in 14:06.
Rating: * 1/2
Shark came out to join the Headbangers and went all in with his new partners, dressing just like them and taking on the moniker of Headbanger Shark.
The group was a well-oiled machine, compared to Regal’s group of Bobby Eaton and David Taylor, who never seemed to be on the same page.
Juventud Guerrera pinned Prince Iaukea after a springboard spinning leg lariat in 14:41.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Juventud Guerrera retained the WCW WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE.)
Juvy retained his Cruiserweight title with a strong win over Prince Iaukea. Billy Kidman came down to interfere in the match to try to take cheap shots at Iaukea, even though Juvy shooed him away.
Disco Inferno pinned Konnan with the Last Dance in 13:00.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Disco Inferno retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)
Konnan was vicious in going after Disco’s knee to try to set up his Tequila Sunrise hold, but Disco refused to quit. He battled back, fought through the pain and eventually hit his swinging neckbreaker for the pin.
After the match, Disco and Tammy celebrated with a dance party in the middle of the ring.
Jeff Jarrett pinned Marcus Bagwell with the Stroke in 10:46.
Rating: * ¾
Jarrett overcame the passionate fight from Bagwell to pick up the win. But that wasn’t good enough. He went after Bagwell’s leg after the match and tried to set him up for the Figure Four, but his attempts were interrupted by a returning Ric Flair who ran down to save Bagwell and chase Jarrett off.
Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Carl Ouellet with the Greetings from Asbury Park in 8:53.
Rating: ** 1/4
In a battle of the big men, Bam Bam proved on this night he was a tough as advertised, getting Ouellet up for his Greetings from Asbury Park move, although Bam Bam’s buddy Chris Kanyon was at ringside to provide a helping hand when needed.
Scott Steiner made Rick Steiner submit to the Steiner Recliner in 17:17.
Rating: ****
(Scott Steiner retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)
In a highly emotional battle, Scott Steiner retained his US title over his brother Rick. As has been the case in this rivalry, Rick Steiner always seemed apprehensive about hitting big damaging moves on his brother, while Scott was more than happy to get violent and do what was needed to get the win.
The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated Booker T and Meng when Hall pinned Meng with the Outsider Edge in 16:09.
Rating: * 1/2
(The Outsiders won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)
The Outsiders have been saying without the element of surprise, there was no way the makeshift team of Booker & Meng could beat them for the titles. Though they were proven right, it did look for a while like Booker and Meng would triumph again. Meng’s normal partner, The Barbarian, also helped neutralize Rick Rude’s involvement in the match.
However, when things broke down and chaos took over, Nash was able to sneak in a Belt shot on Meng, that while didn’t take him down, it did send him stumbling toward Scott Hall who hit the Outsider Edge and won the match and the titles for the nWo team.
Lex Luger and Diamond Dallas Page defeated Hollywood Hogan and Randy Savage when Page pinned Savage after a Diamond Cutter in 19:15.
Rating: ** 1/2
In the lead up to the match, Hogan and Savage have insinuated that Luger and DDP wouldn’t be able to work together due to their history, but in reality, it seems old issues might’ve crept up between the nWo team as they were seen arguing on several occasions.
It never got to the point where things blew up, and in fact, Savage did save Hogan late in the match, hitting Luger while he was getting Hogan in the torture rack, but he turned right around into a Diamond Cutter.
After the match though, the entire nWo ran in and assaulted Page and Luger. Their mass numbers held off WCW reinforcements who tried to come in 1 by 1.
That is until Stone Cold Steve Austin’s music hit and he ran in and began cleaning house. He took out several nWo members with Stunners, but the numbers caught up with him as well as Hogan came from behind and knocked him out with a shot with the title belt.
Austin fell to the outside floor unconscious as the nWo looked to continue to attack. But from the rafters, Sting came down. He stood over Austin, protecting him with his bat. A few nWo members tried to make a run at him, but Sting knocked them down with the bat. Eventually, he clipped Austin’s unconscious body to another cord and Sting and Austin then shot up disappearing back into the rafters.
By this point, WCW’s team regrouped and began to take out the nWo as the show came to a close.
Card rating: ** 1/2
