1994 Discussion

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Lord Steven Regal v Terry Taylor (Saturday Night, 1/1/94)
- Honestly, I thought this was right there with the Steamboat match. I was getting much the same vibe from both matches, in that this had the same "grab hold of whatever body part is there to be grabbed" feel as the Steamboat match. This wasn't quite as gritty, but they made up for that by adding a ton of nifty touches, like the same bodyscissors spot that's in the Kevin Von Erich/Terry Gordy match on the Texas set, right down to Regal playing Gordy and stumbling and bumbling back into the hold. I'm assuming the time limit on TV title matches that actually happen on TV has been extended to 15 minutes as well, so this gets as much time to build as the PPV match with Steamboat or Davey Boy. An indy roll up section before it was indy sort of came out of nowhere, but this felt more like two guys pulling out quick counters in order to win down the stretch as opposed to two guys doing some cool looking shit on the mat. Besides, it kept with the tone of the rest of the match, AND it actually led to a finish. I'd call this one of the better Regal title defences so far. Really good stuff that I could definitely see landing low on my list. ***1/2

Cactus Jack vs. Vader - Saturday Night 4/17/94
Cactus Jack vs. Vader - Saturday Night 4/24/94

If I could clump these two matches together as a big match and vote for it like that, it'd probably land in my top 25. But I can't, and as stand-alone matches, I'm not sure either is quite strong enough to make my list, but they're still fantastic and worth watching, and it's pretty awesome how the first builds into the second and the second plays of the first. Foley comes out firing in the first match, but then Vader gets irritated and breaks Foley's nose. Vader's punches look vile, disgusting, etc: it literally looks like he's trying to break Foley's nose. And Foley's face after one of them is great-- he momentarily stops his crazy-man-grunting selling and makes this "holy shit he broke my nose" face. Tons more Vader pummeling Foley, and then a pretty great fluke win finish. Awesome stuff on the outside, too, and some pretty painful-looking bumps on the guard rail. Totally sets up a rematch perfectly, and Foley's interview after the match is perfect.

Rematch is great. Vader tries to break Foley's nose again, but Foley covers up and then fires back. It's not quite as awesome as when Dustin rocked Vader's world, but it's still great. Then they go back to the outside and play off all the guard rail stuff but invert it, just like the first part of the match was inverted from the 4/17 match. Awesome finish.

Steve Regal vs. Sting - 02/05/94
These guys always have these matches where Sting's doing stuff that I've never seen before. It's not Kiyoshi Tamura level matwork or anything, but it's really good working of holds that he never does with anyone else. People who think Sting sucks should probably watch them because they're not Regal carry jobs in any way, shape or form. Won't vote this, but it was a blast.

Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat (World Title Match) from WCW Saturday Night 5/14/94
Everything about this wrestling match is awesome as you would expect from these two greats. The chain and counter-wrestling on the mat is so smooth and the transitions are seemingly effortless.

I love how they have a series of slaps to the face because it came off from Flair's perspective "would you just quit already. I'M THE MAN!" From Steamboat's perspective it's "I won't be intimidated, I'm coming at you none-stop full speed mf!" That's really the core of Flair vs. Steamboat in all those years and intense minutes inside the ring.

The match is close to 40 minutes long (there are commercial breaks of course) and the pace is never slow. I got the sense that every sequence and hold had meaning towards the ultra-simplistic finish. What is so brilliant about this simple finish is while it may seem 'out of nowhere' at first watch, really ties the entire story of this match together and that is whichever man caught the right move at the right time would win the match.

It doesn't matter if Flair's a heel and Steamboat's a face, by the end of the match both men remain equals no matter the winner. And you knew the next time they faced each other you still wouldn't know which way the tide would turn on the Flair/Steamboat ride. If you love their 1989 trilogy then you have to see this match.

Larry Zbyszko vs. Steven Regal - Saturday Night 5/28/94
And this will make my top half. Total demeanor shift for Regal as he snarls from the start. Zbyszko won a non-title match, and here, Regal's determined not only to keep his belt, but also to punish Larry for embarrassing him. Regal often relied on mat stuff and time limits to keep his belt, but here, he brawls like a man and throws nasty uppercuts. Match starts with beautiful chain wrestling, smooth but with struggle. Zbyszko matches Regal there but doesn't have an answer when Regal switches to strikes. He tries to take it to the mat and pretzel Regal and also goes for several flash pins, playing off the last match. Sir William rules at ringside and Regal brings a ton of viciousness, which I haven't seen in his TV Title defenses. Yeah, I liked this a bunch. Finish was great and looked awkward, too.

Lord Steven Regal Vs Larry Zbyszko – Saturday Night 28/05/1994
So, with a win at the PPV, I’m guessing Zbyszko earned himself a title shot. Expecting more from this now since I remember Sterling thinking it was better, plus the PPV match seemed like a lead in match for something bigger and better too.

They mention in the early going that Zbyszko hasn’t wrestled in a year, maybe a year and a half. So yeah, I listened. Happy Craig? Huh? You fucking happy now? Bitch.

Regal takes a different approach in this match, certainly not taking his opponent lightly, but Zbyszko is still on a roll from the PPV match and continues to counter the TV Champ in some fun exchanges.

Regal gets back into the match with those awesome forearm shots and European uppercuts, but it’s not long before Zbyszko starts countering him yet again into a number of pinning attempts, which do seem to come at an odd point in the match. One of the best parts of the match comes along around this point with Sir William Dundee himself slapping Zbyszko in the face to break up one of the pins lol. Zbyszko chases Dundee allowing Regal to finally gain complete control.

Love Regal’s control segment, with more of those forearm shots and European uppercuts, and plenty of submission holds that look painful as fuck, and of course some assistance from Sir William and the umbrella .

Finishing stretch is really good with Zbyszko making comebacks and Regal cutting him off, and Sir William taunting and shoving Zbyszko at every chance.

The show ends with the match still going, but the nice man who put this set together stuck the end of the match on, so yey .

Finish has Sir William’s interference come back to haunt Regal, and Larry Zbyszko wins the TV title! The reign of probably the best TV champ ever is over. Boo!!!

Good stuff here, has a good chance of being on my list in the bottom 20 or so.

Big Van Vader vs. Sting – Saturday Night 15/10/1994
Gotta say, I was very disappointed to find out this match existed, just because their last PPV match at Fall Brawl really felt like “the end” of their multi-year feud. It was just the most perfect conclusion I could think of for them. So this happening a month later is kinda like “oh ffs, let the feud die!” despite the fact it has a good chance of being really good lol. There really is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and I’m really hoping this doesn’t fall into that category. Basic start to the match, but tons of fun with both men stalling and posing and trying ot get in each other’s head. Vader gets the first shots in, and seems to be having a hell of a time punching Sting in the face... until Sting flies out of the corner with a double leg takedown and begins to give Vader a receipt for every blow he gave earlier. The fans are behind Sting in a HUGE way, allowing Sting to find the strength to continue getting up and taking the fight to Vader despite taking more blows to the head and other offence from the #1 contender.

As with all Sting/Vader matches, Vader eventually finds a way to put Sting down for a period of time, allowing him to work over the Stinger with his typical, and awesome as fuck, offence. Any Vader match is automatically “good” at the very least because of his offence. Vader getting pissed off at Sting for not staying down is awesome. He shoves Sting in the corner and holds his face with one hand as he winds the other up and crushes Sting’s chest with the other a couple of times... until Sting gets his... I dunno, 5th or 6th wind lol, and does the whole “superman” comeback, which isn’t as bad as it might sound just because Sting does at least continue to sell the fact he’s exhausted and shit. With Sting getting back in control, Race gets involved and Sting wins via DQ. Sucky ending to a very good match... a match I still think shouldn’t have happened.

Big Van Vader vs. Dustin Rhodes – Saturday Night 17/12/1994
This one starts off crazy as hell! Dustin charges to the ring, tries to clothesline Race who managed to duck, but that only leads to Dustin levelling Vader instead! Dustin punches the shit out of Vader, and then goes back to Race, all the while the cable for the ring announcer’s mic is caught up in the ring and it’s just one giant brawly mess. Awesome. After I posted my previous reviews yesterday, Sterling mentioned that as well as being able to work like a smaller guy with beatdowns and whatnot, Dustin can work just as well as the big man that he is, and there really isn’t any doubting it based on the previous match and the shit they do here. From Rhodes just beating the shit out of Vader, to him catching Vader mid splash and slamming him to the mat. Had to laugh at the announcers saying “450” when Vader hit a splash from the ropes... not quite a 450 splash, but certainly a 450lb splash lol.

When Dustin kicks out of said splash, Vader gets angry. Very angry. More face caving blows. Nice callback spot to the Clash match by using the same move he won with, but this time, because he’s so fucking pissed at the young kid for kicking out earlier, decides that the match isn’t going to end any time soon... not before he takes Dustin to the outside for another inside out clothesline and then a powerbomb on the floor! Unfortunately (ummm, I guess lol, just because I wanted to see it), Duggan shows up with a 2x4 to prevent Vader from hitting the move. Match ends with a DQ I’m guessing. Petty that this match ended up being used to set up Duggan/Vader rather than just a straight up Vader/Dustin match. Still, fun as fuck and plenty of good shit, just could have done with being a little longer (just because MOAR is awesome in this case lol) and without the Duggan ending.

Lord Steven Regal v Larry Zbyzsko, WCW Saturday Night 28/05/1994
Hell of a match. Zbyzsko establishes he has Regal's number in the early going with some swank reversals and they work a really cool cravate/headlock spot where Regal finally tries to escape over the ropes only to again be caught by Larry and drilled into the mat. Regal's selling throughout this is really great: shrugging his knees to get feeling back in to them after an attempted boston crab and a scream and gritted face after getting his hand stomped on. Simple stuff but it really makes Regal's eventual transition to control that much greater.

Eventually he regains control with some sick uppercuts and forearms and sets about trying to wear down Larry eventually settling on the ribs after Sir William injures Zbyzsko behind the ref's back. The selling down the stretch from both is really great in showing the exhaustion both have suffered and the multiple pin attempts were really nice as false finishes. They also played off of the early story of Regal never really managing to one up Larry which I dug. The commentators pointing out they're about to run out of time and will continue next week was nice in making the result a bit unpredictable and the finish despite being a little strange in execution (unsure as to why Sir William needed to be on the rope as Regal was in little trouble) pays off well with Larry reversing the sleeper into the winning pinfall and claiming the TV Title.

Well wrestled match with a coherent story which payed off in the finish, good selling from both men in spells and some swank submissions and one GODLY Regal headbutt, hell of a match.

Dustin Rhodes v Bunkhouse Buck (Saturday Night 6/8/94)
--Nothing much to write about here, this was more tame than the other matches since is the a ten minute match on free TV, but it was really good for the time given and it made me think that Buck has more stuff to his name other than the Dustin/Studd Stable feud. You obviously get your hatred and fiery punches, but there's no whipping or cowbell shots to the noggin around here. Buck pushes the camera man down before getting to ring, and that's fairly batty. Post-match is the mother load, though. Dusty was at ringside the whole match and he gets involved into this tussle with Meng and Parker and you see the sparks fly everywhere. If WWE were half as good at building matches off of little ten minute matches on TV as WCW were in this era, I'd be watching.

Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat, Saturday Night 14/05/1994
Yeah this was awesome and replacing their Spring Stampede 1994 match on my list. Loved how once again Steamboat controlled the early goings in the chain wrestling exchanges and once again it breaks down into a slap exchange between both men with neither pulling any stops. Flair just cutting Steamboat's momentum off with a punch to the stomach was a hell of a cut off and from here on Flair is just a total prick; punching Steamboat in the nose which Steamboat sells as he normally does by checking his nose isn't disfigured and collapsing to the floor, Flair just straight up poking Steamboat in the eye only for Heenan to incinuate Steamboat is moaning about his missing contact . Some flat out amazing selling moments as well in this one, Flair having his legs worked over and then doing a double stomp on Steamboat's ribs only to hobble to the opposite corner in agony may have only been bettered by Steamboat's selling of a delayed vertical suplex; Flair to his credit sells his leg afterwards but Steamboat just has a hunched back for 10 seconds and pulls this amazing pained facial expression that only he could do. There was also one punch from Flair that looked like something out of a gangster flick where he drops Steamboat with a straight right hand and Steamboat just KO's himself marvelously.

The selling of fatigue down the finishing stretch as well is terrificly done by both, Steamboat falling off of the ropes after a combo of Flair chops and exhaustion was such a smart spot but then again look who's wrestling. Think one of my actual favourite spots for its simplicity but execution was Flair running the ropes and Steamboat dropping to the mat in the most delayed manner possible and not even attempting to switch position as Flair jumps over him; again so simple but it fitted the wear and tear of the match so well and just came off as a super intelligent spot you won't see again in a 100 matches. Finish itself seemed a bit of a downer given the match they were having but upon closer inspection what appears to be a forearm smash to the nads from Flair as well as the exhaustion and longevity of the match it didn't come off as bad a finish as I initially thought it was.

****1/2

Ric Flair v Ricky Steamboat (Saturday Night 14/5/94)
--Really like the Spring Stampede match (Spring Stampede is a contender for best PPV ever, btw), but holy son of a mother this was even better. The idea of a wrestler vacating a belt and winning it back without anyone else winning it has always seemed dumb to me, but this truly felt like it was either guy's ballgame. Flair's heel shtick never gets old no matter how many times you've seen it, or no matter how many time you've seen it with the same opponent, and Steamboat is the perfect hope spot/cross-bodying/fiery fan favourite combatant for him. Loved Steamboat turning the screws and going for Flair's leg, and the figure four on him was a great spot. Flair's in "I'm better than Hulk Hogan" mode, but no matter how much he has to prove he's got to go to the ropes to get leverage and shove referees and all that and it's the Ric Flair you want. Bobby Heenan losing his mind whenever they went to a commercial break was the greatest thing ever. Finish is god-awful, and I think it actually hurt the match. After thirty minutes of grappling and outside-suplexes, Flair catches Steamboat with some demented head butt thing while Steamer's going for a leapfrog and pins him clean after waiting a few seconds. Apart from that, though, this was the business.

Ricky Steamboat/Arn Anderson v Steve Austin/Steven Regal (Saturday Night, 3/5/94)
Ricky Steamboat v Steve Austin (Saturday Night, 3/12/94)

Tag is real good and sterling should watch it if he can find it (IDK if you have the Steamboat comp or not...of if you've bought it and the post office is still fucking with Cal). Sort of a Steamboat show. He schools the heels early, plays FIP, gets his ass kicked like he's Steamboat. There's one moment where Austin is laying into him and Steamboat crumples in a heap in the corner and half falls out of the ring because he knows Dundee is right there to take a cheapshot at him. Doesn't sound like much at all, but it's just another example of Steamboat being a total pro and making the fruity "ring general" tag actually sound...not fruity. He is all about building the heat and something as simple as that ends up going a long way. They run a hectic finish in place of a hot tag, but it's a sweet hectic finish. Austin looked awesome in '94 and Steamboat ended up going out as one of the best in the world, which is really where he'd been for the last 13 years.

The Austin match is even better than the tag and I wish I could find a spot for it in my top 60. Steve has an amazing arm wringer, just cranking and twisting and pulling on it. Steamboat sells it like he's Steamboat. This is a #1 contenders match for Flair's World Title at Spring Stampede, so I knew who was winning, but the stretch run is pretty super here and had me biting on a few occasions. They run a bunch of teased bullshit finishes with Parker helping Austin and Austin cheating that don't end up actually finishing it, and the crowd get into it big time. They're probably like me and have seen shit like that end matches a thousand times, so when it doesn't it's quite a surprise. I've never bought someone winning with a series of roll ups like I did here, either. Actual finish is kind of crummy, but eh, this was great and totally on my list. Stoked for their other matches that year now.

Regal vs. Terry Taylor - Saturday Night 1/1/94 - Andy talked about this a while back. It's a very good TV title match. Not something I'd consider voting for, & if you've got a full plate, I doubt it's essential. They bust out some pretty slick stuff. Both guys look good at the mat. But it's a bit too roll-up heavy for my liking.

Ricky Steamboat & Arn Anderson vs. Steve Austin & Steven Regal (WCWSN 3/5/94)
Has anyone else watched/talked about this yet? Not going on my list or anything, but given the talent involved, on paper it looks pretty epic. Its not bad, but it doesn't really get that good. Arn and Steamboat look good in the early going, then Steamboat becomes FIP... and then Arn never gets the hot tag but jumps in the ring anyway because he's ARN and he can't be fucked waiting any more and then Steamboat gets a pin on Austin. Felt like it needed just a few more minutes for a legit hot tag and THEN the finish.

Cactus & Sullivan vs. Orndorff & Roma - Saturday Night 7/23/94
Really fun. Pretty Wonderful struts a bunch at the beginning. Then the un-pretty guys wail on them. All fantastic. First 10 minutes are terrific. Foley's FIP spell is fine. They could've killed him a lot more. Didn't care for the finishing run. Not going to make my list.

Rick Rude vs. Mark Starr, WCW Saturday Night 5/14/94
This is a nothing squash that goes about 4 min, with Rude shouting for Vader the whole time and looking about ready to burst a blood vessel. Starr only gets one bit of offense, which is a flurry of slaps Rude completely no-sells [ok, that bit was pretty amusing]. Afterwards, he meets Scheme Gene and cuts a promo on Vader to hype their match at Slamboree: "It's Rude against Vader. It's a rottweiler against a pit bull. It's a clydesdale against a racehorse. The shotgun against the Mac-10. Vader -- Philadelphia, PA -- it's Evil against Evil." It's an interesting match for its historical importance. During the post-match interview, Rude is carrying the belt he won off Sting in Japan, and they repeatedly refer to the title win. However, he doesn't wear it to the ring, so logic tells me he taped the match before Japan. Since Rude got hurt in Japan then I am guessing this is his last televised match.

Lord Steven Regal vs. Terry Taylor, WCW Saturday Night 1/1/94
Quite a decent match this. I'm not overly familiar with Terry Taylor as a worker, so I'm not sure how it relates to his prime, but aside from some awkward moments here and there, it struck me as pretty much a pre-cursor to the Zbyszko match. A nice contrast between Regal's Japanese influenced European style and Taylor's more traditional US style stuff. The finishing stret

Sting vs Steve Austin - WCW Saturday Night 01/01/94
This is a tremendous match where they work holds most of the time. Most of this is basic, but it's really well-executed and builds nicely. They work a headlock for the 10 minutes or so of this 15 minute match and do lots of counters based off of it. Austin gives Sting an awesome looking superplex. The finish is dumb, with Pillman interfering and attacking Austin, but this was during a time period where it was obvious WCW had no plans for Pillman, so I don't think they really cared that they made him a dumb babyface.

Brian Pillman vs Steve Austin - WCW Saturday Night 01/15/94
Not as good as the Sting match, but good in its own right. Austin fakes a knee injury in an attempt to lure Pillman in, but ends up putting a bullseye on it. Pillman is all, "Well, I wasn't planning on it, but since you brought it to my attention, sure I'll destroy your knee" and does some nice work on it. Austin ends up taking control and destroys Pillman's shoulder. Those who enjoy matches that focus on a body part will really like this, as they do some nice stuff, but it's too short to get to the next level.

Sting vs Brian Pillman - WCW Saturday Night, 9/30/95
Pillman seems well into his Loose Cannon gimmick here. He's taunting the crowd and knocking over guardrails. (Sting, incidentally, is such a gentleman that he goes to the floor and helps put the rail back up - Nerd Alert!) This is a short TV match that has lots of Pillman stooging, faking a knee injury, taking some nice bumps off a very athletic Sting. The final spot leading to the pin looks a bit too rehearsed, but it's still kind of cool as Pillman comes over the top rope and dives straight into a powerslam and quick pin. It's capped by a confrontation between Flair and Sting postmatch in which Sting wisely lets Flair do most of the talking and so doesn't embarrass himself.