The Lord Said Let There Be Fight: Steven Regal, Fit Finlay, Sting (WCW, 1996)

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Steven Regal is one of the greatest mid-carders of all the times with his ability to deliver entertaining and unique matches on the undercard. He had a rare talent possessed only by a few of the greats such as Greg Valentine or a Vader where he would take his opponent out of his comfort zone and creating a unique environment for this wrestler. It is one thing to coerce a wrestler to wrestle your style this can lead to style clashes or plug and play. Regal was able to adapt his style to his opponent. Every Regal match is worth watching is because you get to see Sting, Psychosis and Larry Zybszko in truly unique matches. For example, my major malfunction with Ultimo Dragon was how he would unleash his amazingly deep offensive arsenal like an exhibition of fireworks rather than a contest to win a match. Regal was able to reign in Dragon and force him to use his offense in a compelling manner. Dragon did not change his game plan; he was still using his kicks and holds to set up the Tiger Suplex, but he had to earn the offense. Regal is so versatile at selling and bumping for a wide range of wrestlers like the bruisers (Finlay), luchadors (Psychosis) and main event talent (Sting).

For all his talent, Regal was underutilized by WCW, sure he had a great run as Television Champion, but in 1995 he was relegated to WCW's fledgling tag team with Bobby Eaton. On the surface, that sounds like the stuff dreams are made of, but unfortunately their opponents were Harlem Heat and Nasty Boys. But in early 1996, WCW was making a concerted effort to truly being an all-star promotion. They had the strongest main event talent of the 80s and 90s and they had brought in American talent that had been working overseas. Soon, they would bring in the luchadors. In addition, they brought in Fit Finlay as Regal's arch -nemesis. They brought a brutality and violence that has rarely been seen before or after in the US. It was BattlArts/FUTEN levels of violence with nasty strikes to each other face and bodies. They fought through each other's offense and earned every inch. Until Regal's nose is demolished by Finlay's stiff strike, which the perfect ending even if unintentional to such a tour de force.

Check out the best of Lord Steven Regal in 1996 and hopefully, it will inspire to watch even more Steven Regal in WCW and beyond.

Lord Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay - WCW Uncensored 1996

If you are real quiet and pay attention real close, you can actually hear Regal's nose explode at the end of the match. This was Ishikawa/Ikeda levels of brutality and uncomfortability. They were just beating the absolutely fucking shit out of each other. This would not look out of place at all on BattlArts card. This is why I loved WCW in 1996, it really felt like an all-star promotion with the best of every style on the card. Finlay set the tone early by whipping Regal with his jacket and just attacking him with vicious forearms, knees and headbutts. They were just fighting through each other's offense, which is one of my favorite style of matches. To me it is not my turn, your turn because you fucking earned your turn in this war. Whether it was stiff Finlay knee to the head to break out of an armbar or Regal nearly taking Finlay's head off with a dropkick. The only defense in this match was more offense and fight fire with fire. Unlike Ishikawa/Ikeda, they had a hard time keeping the heat up throughout the match and in the holds. They worked the palm strikes and knees in the holds well, but the holds in the match while gnarly did not have the drama of a BatBat match.  I loved that the chairs were attached together preventing Finlay from using the chairs at Uncensored. I always mark out when someone suplexes someone from the ring to the floor, which seems so dangerous. Dusty is hilarious totally missing Brain's point that they wrestled each other thinking he was thinking England and Ireland were the same thing, "Ireland is five miles from London. I don't think so." Apparently, this match was supposed to go 30 minutes and I think thankfully it did not. It was running out of steam and this was the perfect ending for the match. One guy hits another guy so hard that his nose is shattered and he is just a bloody mess. It was really the only proper way to end such a nasty fight.

As much as I love sheer brutality, I do like a bit more of a strategy and/or narrative to my matches. It really is another form of a spotfest, but better than what is commonly thought of as a spotfest. Because they are fighting through each other's offense, it never feels like an exhibition. Because they are hitting each other so hard, it always feels like they are trying to win. It does not have the same pitfalls as a standard spotfest, but it does lack hook from a character/angle perspective to make it truly excellent. Still, I think this is an undervalued match. It is well-known, but the usual rating seems a bit low to me. It does not reach the greatness of some of the BatBat/FUTEN stuff I saw in the past year, this is not far off. ****1/4

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Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay - WCW Saturday Night 4/13/96

Coming out of the violent Uncensored match where Regal's nose was demolished, Regal felt like the more sympathetic character and I feel like they played that up with him being more of a babyface here. He takes the match to Finlay early and it looks like he may trying to go for a nose for a nose with those nasty palm strikes. Finlay actually begs off before he gets a vicious elbow to the nose and he looks to keep grounded. He misses an elbow and Regal pounces with a double wristlock. It does not last long as Finlay gets a nasty thumb to eye and a wicked headbutt. Finlay looks to take Regal's arm off and beat him with it. The Blue Bloods come out to bail out Regal. I did not like the finish. Regal is a much better face than Finlay, but Finlay was over. I liked Regal as the fired up babyface and the finish just felt totally out of place. It even seemed the way Regal reacted that they may be teasing a face turn. Good set up for more matches. ***

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Steven Regal vs Fit Finlay - WCW Nitro 4/29/96 Parking Lot Brawl

Really cool, unique set up with these two bitter rivals surrounded by park cars. Finlay wastes no time putting his foot through a window. Finlay uses a tire and a bumper to fuck up Regal. I loved the build to the climax with all the teases of doing moves from the top of the car. You know we all wanted to see it. They delivered in spades and I will let the viewer see it for themselves because it is quite the exclamation point on a great undercard feud. Bischoff was trying to get this match over by calling for wide angles and saying this is too violent, but it just came off as more annoying. I wish we had Tony calling this match. That being Bischoff or whoever in WCW came up with this match was really smart. This is cutting edge shit that takes ECW puts a new twist on it and is applied to a feud that fit it well. It comes off as super fresh and really makes WCW seem must see. Great and entertaining match, but does not touch the sheer awesomeness of the Uncensored match. ***1/2

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Sting vs Lord Steven Regal - WCW Great American Bash 1996

One of those mildly hyped WCW matches that I have never had a chance to see, until now. I am a pretty big Regal fan because he reminds me of someone like a Valentine or a Vader that will force an opponent out of their comfort zone, but still adapt to the opponent. It is a rare talent and one not too often discussed. A little background on why Regal was getting a crack at the top when he was usually relegated to great mid-card actin. This is the PPV before Bash at the Beach and thus the entire company is in a holding pattern until the New World Order is formed. Sting needed a win and a match with Regal could serve to enhance Regal's star power. After the NWO, there did not seem to be plans for Regal and of course Regal was also battling personal demons. The set up was pretty simple as Regal showed Sting the back of his hand and Sting took offense. Tony mentions during the course of this bout that Sting's dark hair look is recent. I always prefered bleach blond and spiky, but it was a good way to freshen up Sting.

Sting actually showed some really good fire early, which has always been my problem with him. Yes, he has a ton of energy to spare, but rarely is it channeled into violence. Regal is able to come back with some technical wristlocks to subdue Sting, but Sting's energy and strength allow him to power out. Regal resets the match asking for a handshake and his facial expressions during this is priceless. Sting thrusts his Little Stinger in Lord Steven's direction. Tony calls that an Elvis move. Dusty says that is not an Elvis move that was a pelvis move! Too funny. We hit the test of strength and Sting maybe stronger, but Regal knows those little tricks that allow him to apply a cobra clutch. From there, it is all Regal and that is goal of this match to showcase Regal as a credible opponent for WCW's main eventers through his holds, vicious strikes and his cocky attitude. His little strut, which was supposed to mock Sting just struck me as a weird than as annoying or entertaining, a rare bit of character acting that Regal misfired on. Regal takes a good 80-90% of this match and wrestles a solid heat segment with vicious palm strikes to the head and interesting arm holds, but I think overall Malenko smoked him on this night. Sting's hope spots were well-timed and Regal had nice underhanded counters like an eyepoke for them. I actually kinda liked Sting powering up while in a knucklelock and Regal's selling was spot on. Sting hits his sugar high and explodes with clotheslines, but that is just a hope spot and we get a sweet butterfly suplex. The part of the match is that pisses me off more than anything else happens right here. Regal applies his Regal Stretch and then just gives it up. I can't stand when wrestlers just give up on submissions and YOUR BEST SUBMISSION that is ridiculous. The setup for the finish is great that Regal is mauling Sting in the corner and Sting won't go down so he shows him the back of the hand just like at the start of this angle and Sting wakes the fuck up for that.  Sting hits some really great monster punches. Sting eats knees on the Stinger Splash, but quickly applies the Scorpion Deathlock to get out of Baltimore with the victory.

Regal looked great in this match just by being able to hang with Sting. Sting had some real flashes of violence and intensity as opposed to his more FUN energy. I thought that was a very good match, but I don't they ever really flirted with great. Regal gets to show his stuff, Sting kicks a bit of ass, but needs the flash submission to defeat Regal and build momentum towards the clash with the Outsiders. Very good match to build Regal up, but sadly nothing ever came from it. ***1/2

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WCW TV Champion Steven Regal vs Psicosis - WCW Nitro 12/16/96

Penascola, Florida sure loved them some Psicosis and they can be on my team any day of the week. The entire camera side of the crowd was standing for the majority of this match start to finish and literally every Psicosis spot got a decent to huge pop. You really could not have asked for a better crowd. Psicosis sold phenomenally, but on offense was decent at best, if really ripped it up this had potential to be of the elite Nitro matches (I am talking top 5-ish). The crowd was clearly on Regal's case early with USA chants and they were even amped for the opening armwork. Look, I love Regal's intricate armwork and Psicosis with a lucha background had no difficulty keeping up. That is over with me, but I don't expect the crowd to really respond. This crowd was going apeshit over the littlest details, it was awesome. As soon as Psicosis slammed Regal down on the arm, you would expect fucking Hogan had just slammed Andre. I honestly think Psicosis was bewildered by the reaction. His tope was sick as always. I thought Regal's selling was incredible in this match. Honestly, this match featured some of the best selling I have seen in a long time. My major malfunction with the crowd so hot, they were basically begging fro Psicosis to do something, but he kept stalling and looked unsure of himself. Stuff like waiting for Regal to get up only to hit a dropkick. Look, I get you needed to sell, but we needed a babyface shine. The early Guillotine Legdrop got a massive reaction and was a great nearfall. I love Regal throwing Psicosis on the bad shoulder and then he just pounces with a gritty facelock and palm strikes to head. Regal was a beast in this match working the arm tenaciously, but selling fatigue and pain simultaneously. Psicosis gets one more nearfall by throwing Regal off the top rope, playing to the crowd and hitting a top rope splash for two. Psicosis looks to go for a victory roll, but Regal slams him face first and applies the Regal Stretch to break the hearts of every one in that Penascola crowd. Tighten Psicosis' offense and have reach the potential I know he has and this would be an all-time classic. As is, I still thought this was fabulous from a selling perspective especially. In addition, I thought the Psicosis nearfalls meant a lot especially due to the crowd and that Regal's offense and ability to capitalize on mistakes was great. The crowd definitely tips the balance for me. ***3/4

A Mysterious King: Rey Misterio Jr., Dean Malenko, Psicosis (WCW, 1996)

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Speaking of revolutionary forces in the field of entertainment, has there been anybody as revolutionary and influential as Rey Misterio Jr. in the past two decades? He did not just break barriers for the Latino and smaller stature wrestler community he demolished them. He introduced lucha libre wrestling style and the traditions of lucha libre to a widescale American audience for the first time. Of course, his groundbreaking high-flying acrobatics took our breath away and have been imitated, but never quite duplicated. To be a pioneer of his magnitude, it is not enough just to be different and be good at your craft. You have to excel like few others in the history of your industry. A cool mask and some fancy moves will only take you so far as many luchadors or indy wrestlers will tell you. In order to be as influential and ground-breaking as Rey Misterio, you have to make people invest in you as a character. It is the richness of Rey Misterio's total understanding of professional wrestling that made him one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of this great industry. All of facets of Rey, I mentioned above, shaped pro wrestling into a totally different beast from pre-Rey to post-Rey, but it was something simple and a known commodity that allowed Rey to shine, break these barriers down and influence pro wrestling. It was his heart and the story of the underdog. Rey did not pioneer that. We have known that story since Biblical Times. Rey repackaged that story in the body of an undersized Mexican-American, who had no business being the absolute megastar he was in the United States of America based on previous history.  

World Championship Wrestling did not discover Rey Misterio obviously. He was a part of the infamous Tijuana circuit that produced the likes of Konnan and Psicosis. Eventually, he made his way to the upstart AAA promotion that was running counter to CMLL (oldest pro wrestling promotion in the world). His first American exposure was the When Worlds Collide PPV in 1994 where AAA presented a PPV on American PPV stations with English commentary. From there, he would travel to Japan and ECW wrestling showcase matches against his perpetual arch-nemesis, Psicosis. In June of 1996, the enigmatic Antonio Inoki held his World Wrestling Peace Festival in Los Angeles with American, Japanese and Mexican promotions participating. The match of the festival was the Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal tag team match. The match served as an showcase for Misterio's offensive talents and the story sold on WCW TV was the officials were impressed and booked him for the Great American Bash 1996 against Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko.

One contentious debate about the internet was WCW running contrary to the normal booking model of bringing Rey into your promotion. Standard practice was to pit him against rival Psicosis who as a big bumping heel could make Rey look like a million bucks. WCW being WCW never does anything the logical way instead put Rey against the dry Dean Malenko. While I agree with the critics that it was not the perfect match to WOW the fans and I do think they should have given Rey one or two big highspots early. The match was structured to demonstrate to the fans he was not all sizzle and no substance because he was able to show his heart. His verbal selling was on full display. Credit where credit is due Malenko worked an all-time great heat segment that had the fans totally invested in the underdog character even before they saw all his incredible moves. At the Bash at the Beach, Rey Misterio and Psicosis did their touring showcase match, which in my opinion is their best match outside of Mexico. Psicosis was an incredible talent that could go from a big bumping clown to the a sadistic prick at the drop of the hat. The Bash At The Beach showed both in top form. In the course of two months, Rey Misterio was a sensation and his victory over Dean Malenko the next night on Nitro to win the Cruiserweight Championship cemented that and resurrected the Cruiserweight division, which looked dead on arrival. Finally, Rey also was the best opponent in the career of Dean Malenko. Dean, who more often than not, was incredibly dry and mechanical was able to work incredible matches thanks to the selling and highspots of Rey Mysterio, which mixed perfectly with Dean Malenko's offensive stylings.

Rey Misterio's 1996 will go down as one of the all-time great years with incredible matches in ECW, WCW, WAR and AAA. As a fan, I am just glad I get to live in a world with Rey Misterio Jr.

Match Listing:

Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal 

 World Wrestling Peace Festival 1996

Really fun, crowd-pleasing exhibition of the technicos offense and the rudos bumping.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr.

Great American Bash 1996 ****1/2

Classic heat segment with Malenko working the arm. Awesome Rey Verbal Selling. Great Finish Stretch.

Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996 ****1/2

WOW! A perfect way to showcase the spots, but still within the framework of two archrivals struggling to win a match.

WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. - WCW Nitro 7/8/96

Awesome shine! Weird finish. Great moment in Nitro history.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Misterio Jr. vs Dean Malenko 

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996 ****1/4

Awesome finish stretch. Malenko is hungry to win his title back and Mysterio thwarts with speed and daring.

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Rey Misterio Jr & Ultimo Dragon vs Psicosis & Heavy Metal 

 World Wrestling Peace Festival 1996

Wow, the rudos get even less in this than I remember. Don't get me wrong, this is an incredibly fun exhibition of the techinco's abilities and rudo's bumping and a total feel good match. When you are promoting Peace through wrestling I can't think of a better match as it features Rey and Dragon at their crowd pleasing best and Psicosis at his most selfless. Besides an early Psicosis guillotine, this was the Rey show with just breath-taking spot getting a bigger and bigger pop. Psicosis was a total pro taking all of Rey's ranas and insane dives. Dragon and Heavy Metal was perfect for what it was with Dragon showing off his kicks and quick movements. I loved Psicosis not being to catch Dragon in the corner with repeated strikes and then the crazy bump he took over the top turnbuckle. The dive train in this was awesome. You kinda miss Rey's somersault plancha, but then all of sudden you have a Psicosis crashing into your scene full force. I thought Dragon would go Asai, but he when with a somersault off the top so Rey could do a corkscrew Asai moonsault. To set that corkscrew Asai moonsault up, Psicosis takes my all time favorite bump the slide on your belly to the floor bump (usually a Rey Rey bump). Heavy Metal follows that up with another favorite bump of mine when technico kicks the rudo's feet from under him and he flies into the ropes/turnbuckles ass-first. A Tiger Suplex gives the technicos the victory to a big pop. One of those matches that will always bring you up when you're down, but without more offense from the heels it just feels like an exhibition. ***1/2

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr.

Great American Bash 1996 

This match simultaneously salvaged the fledging cruiserweight division and made it into a sensation over night. This match is the best exhibition of Malenko’s chain wrestling being entertaining and working well within the confines of the layout. Malenko knows he cannot let Rey create space between them or otherwise face the damage of Rey’s vaunted aerial attack. If he can ground Rey, he eliminates that threat. That is the crux of the match Rey trying to squirm away from Malenko and Malenko trying to wrangle Rey.

From the outset, Malenko is one who is able to strike first with a cool looking Greco-Roman knucklelock arm snapping-thingy. It looked sweet trust me. He works over that arm relentlessly and convincingly with a great variety of moves. It always feels like he is trying to gain a new advantage or add a different degree of pain to Rey’s arm to keep him off-balance. My favorite moment is a flying hammerlock into a kimura that just looks so fuckin sweet. The key in this control segment is that Rey still has hope spots. This was Rey’s debut and it was critical to have these hope spots especially when he did not get an opening shine or you run the risk of jobberizing him.

As the match progresses and Dean is still struggling to put Rey away, you come to see a recurring theme with Malenko he does show emotion. Dean is not more relatable wrestler or the best seller, but he is really good at selling frustration at the inability to put an opponent away. This combined with Rey’s resilience and sympathetic underdog selling creates a very powerful story for the audience that is rooting for the underdog in this debut match against the champion.

When Dean finally does lose control, Rey unleashes that arsenal of aerial maneuvers, which both wow the fans and does a good job displaying why Dean was working so hard to ground Rey. The finish is thrilling with Rey’s quick pinfall attempts and all his quick counters. However, he finally succumbs to a massive powerbomb by Dean, who puts his feet on the ropes for three. The finish is a satisfying climax to this cat and mouse game. Rey looks like a champ with hot finish and Dean is able to retain due to one big move.

Most of what I have read has been in favor of declaring this match a classic, but it feels that many feel the need to defend it against a vocal minority that believes Dean gobbled up Rey for too long. Now, if Dean just sat in an armbar for the entirety of his lengthy heat segment, I would agree. Dean was really active with a lot of gnarly submissions and high-impact blows into pinfalls. It truly felt like he was trying to win a match and I can appreciate that. I think where these critics have a point is that Dean should not have immediately entered into a heat segment. In their subsequent Nitro match in July, Rey has a really cool babyface shine to open it. In that match, it really sets up the idea of what Dean has to fear. If Dean can not ground him, Rey will have him going in circles and Dean really sells that frustration in that match well. In this match, you don’t really get the feeling that Dean has anything to worry about in the context of the match because Rey did not open with anything. The drama in the Great American Bash would have been greatly enhanced by allowing Rey to hit a couple big moves off the bat to demonstrate how he lethal he could be. Since I brought up the Nitro match, the big problem with that match is that Malenko’s heat segment really meanders and is not really as good as this one. The Great American Bash match is a better complete match.

In sum, I think if you tack the babyface shine segment from the Nitro match and splice it into the Great American Bash match you have a Match of the Year Candidate for 1996. As is, it is one of three best matches from 1996 in WCW (Mysterio/Psychosis), but just cant compete with the All Japan and othere matches of 1996. This heat segment definitively proves in my mind that Dean Malenko is not boring. Can he be boring? Yes and we will see that! But he definitely can be a fuckin fantastic offensive wrestler. I think Dean’s strong suit is as a heel. Malenko is one of the few American wrestlers to always be straddling the face/heel line. I think if the booking team just went full bore with Dean as a sadistic, ground-based heel he would have had more entertaining matches consistently. This match showed how effective he could be as a yin to Mysterio’s yang. Mysterio for his part continued his campaign to be best wrestler in North America. I agree that Mysterio should have worked the majority of the match from underneath. His selling endeared him to the fans, his hope spots were well-timed to keep the audience engaged, and the match was structured to give his aerial spots time to breathe and seem more important to the audience. In the Dragon match, he will not be so lucky. 

One thing I want to debunk is that at least initially the commentary team (sans the Brain) did a very good job trying to get over the cruiserweights. You could feel how excited Dusty was to watch them and how much he enjoyed their work. As time progressed, of course like with all things in the mid-card, the WCW commentary team would just ignore it and talk about the Hogan-related item of the night. ****1/2

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Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996

Growing up, Psicosis was one of my favorite wrestlers just based on look alone. I would argue that he had even cooler costume than La Parka, but La Parka had the dance moves & chair so it was a close call. I was always disappointed that he was never featured at the same level of Rey Misterio or Juventud Guerrera. It turns out these childhood feelings have been validated by the fact that Psicosis is really fucking good. Both going back through the old footage and reading other people’s opinions that Psicosis is one of the best workers in the world in the mid-90s. Unfortunately, he was not able to sustain his greatness in the late 90s while his arch-nemesise, Rey Misterio Jr. really took off. Misterio and Psicosis have a history that dates back to Tijuana wrestling scene of the 90s. Psicosis was the clown, base and vicious heel to Rey Misterio’s undersized underdog with revolutionary high-flying. They were the perfect mix and they took their act on tour. From their home promotion of AAA (an upstart lucha libre promotion challenging CMLL think the American League or AFL), they travelled to Japan to wow the crowds there and then came to Philadelphia to the little promotion that could, ECW. In 1996, in an effort to further differentiate WCW from WWF, Eric Bischoff brought in a small army of luchadores to populate the fledging WCW cruiserweight division. So logically, the hottest match of 1995 was featured for the first time for a wide scale American audience when Rey Misterio and Psicosis locked up at Bash At The Beach 1996.

It would be so easy for Misterio and Psicosis to just hit a myriad of mind-numbing highspots to astonish and amaze a virgin audience, but what makes these two among the all-time greats is how they transition and build to those highspots for maximum sensory impact. For that reason, this match holds up as one of the best matches in the history of WCW and one of the best PPV openers in any company of all time. Psicosis is consummate heel in this match. He knows when to let Rey shine and when to get vicious to put that heat on Rey. It is a great selfless performance that makes Rey look one of the biggest stars of the world, but in doing so elevates himself and the match. It was surprising to me that first highspot went to Psicosis with a gorgeous suicide dive over the top rope. Unlike all the wussy dives through the ropes recently, this one really wipes Rey out. Psicosis is just great laying down a wicked beating on Rey. Rey is so great at verbal selling as Psicosis whips, chops and slams him. Psicosis nails him with a top rope guillotine leg drop. There is a definite sense of Psicosis attacking the neck and looking to take the wind out of the high-flying Misterio, which is a great strategy against the quick Rey Rey. Psicosis takes his first crazy, hellacious bump, which is a monkey flip on the apron that propels him into the post. WOW! Misterio hits a rana off the apron and then a springboard hurricanrana spikes Psicosis only gets two. The match never feels like an exhibition even the objective of the match is to showcase these crazy spots. The competitors still care about the win and loss. Psicosis does a great job selling his knee after a Rey dropkicks his knee. Trying to chop down the bigger man is not a bad strategy for Rey especially after getting his ass kicked for a good chunk there. Psicosis quashes the Misterio comeback with a droptoehold and locks on a nasty headscissors. I loved Rey’s screams. One of the best worked headscissors I have ever seen and a perfect use of it: a heel who needs to stop the bleeding and sap the energy from a babyface. Good stuff.  Psicosis is targeting the neck again as he sends him flying into the top rope. Rey powders to catch his breath, but Psicosis is right on him dropping him neck first on the railing. Then he hits a senton from the top rope to the floor. WOW! Psicosis’ offense is breath-taking and violent, perfect. Back in the ring, Psicosis applies a camel clutch and fishhooks him. Psicosis is just fucking killing it. Misterio is like Woah, woah I am pretty fucking good too so he busts out a cartwheel into a hurricanarana and a mind-blowing top rope hurricanarana onto Psicosis that was standing on the apron. Holy shit, I think all these spots would still blow the majority of WWE’s current audience’s mind in 2015. Psicosis takes one of my favorite bumps when he gets dropkicked in the back of the head, he slides belly first onto the floor. Misterio hits a twisting corkscrew Asai Moonsault and everybody loses their shit. You can tell how much Tenay loved calling that while Dusty and Bobby were just like What the Fuck. I think while Bobby would vacillate between not giving a shit and putting over the crusierweights, The Dream seemed to be really entertained by them and in his own way put them over at every chance. Psicosis is able to catch Rey with a powerbomb and it actually looks really good. Psicosis is looking for Splash Mountain and Rey hits a crazy rana to win the match. WOW!

I have seen this match a couple times before and I am always blown away by how good it is. Matches that revolve around showcasing spots usually don’t age that well, but this match was as character-driven as it was spot-driven. Not to mention, these spots were crazy awesome and hold up totally. To me a heel is selfless, big bumping and vicious. Psicosis just had that in spades. He took two crazy bumps and hit some amazing highspots. He was always vicious with how he attacked Misterio. Misterio is just an all time great. His verbal selling was off the charts and he was great as a ragdoll for Psicosis to throw around, but when it came to blow people’s minds. He never failed. That finish run is just one incredible highspot after the other all with the purpose of winning the match. Definitely a contender for best WCW match of 90s and a testament to the greatness of the Rey Misterio/Psicosis series. ****1/2

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WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. - WCW Nitro 7/8/96

I have said it before and I will say it again if you put this shine on the Great American Bash match and you have an all-time classic. This shine is perfect for whetting the fan's appetites for how exciting Rey can be. It makes them invest more in the heat segment because they want to see the grand finale. From a strictly kayfabe perspective, it establishes what Malenko has to worry about. If he can't control him, Misterio is going to dictate the pace with armdrags, ranas and dropkicks and keep him off balance. Once Malenko grabs a a hold of him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker he does not let go. He alternates between controlling holds (surfboard, camel clutch) to regain his energy & sap Rey's and nasty throws like the butterfly powerbomb and hanging him out to dry on the ropes. Once again, when Rey can create space he is deadly as he snaps off a rana to the floor and hits an Asai Moonsault, now granted this was not the smoothest exchange, but it was the right idea. I hated Dean picking Rey up towards the end when he had him after super gutbuster and again after another suplex. Did not fit Dean's characters and there was no storyline motivation. Rey winning with an out of nowhere hurricanarana was an awesome way to kick off the most important Nitro in history coming after the Hogan heel turn. It pops the crowd and gives them something feel good after Hogan just turned heel. Plus, Rey totally deserved it. The blown spots and Malenko pulling Rey up hurts this from being one of the all time great Nitro cruiserweight matches, but still very entertaining. ***1/2

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WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Misterio Jr. vs Dean Malenko 

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996

They are afforded to have an extended version of their Nitro sprint and they do not disappoint with an unheralded classic. They utilized the extra time wisely to have Rey sell more convincingly and really milk it before his spectacular comeback. Malenko worked a similar heat segment to the Nitro match vacillating between holds and high impact blows and throws. Where the time really came in handy was in the beginning and end. Before the match, Malenko was pissed that he came in with a two match losing streak to the champion and wanted his belt back. So in order to get into his head, he stole Rey's mask to get into his head. Right at the beginning, the usually reserved Malenko wasted no time jumpstarting the match with blows and throws. He even looked to hook up the Texas Cloverleaf early. Rey desperately escaped and seemed a bit overwhelmed. However, once he was able to create some space and use his quickness to keep Malenko off balance he had Malenko looking like a fool tripping on his face. Rey punctuates this great shine segment with a somersault plancha and regains the stolen mask. I love little victories inside a match. I also loved that Rey Rey had to earn that shine over an early Malenko onslaught. Probably, my favorite part of the match to be honest. Malenko catches Rey on a rana attempt and slams him. He works a solid heat segment making sure to pepper in highspots to keep the crowd involved while he worked holds to keep Rey grounded. The heat segment at Great American Bash was world class and it is hard to compare, but this is a step down. There either needed to be more direction or more Rey hope spots to take this to the next level. I thought the Great American Bash match also featured more Rey verbal selling. I really did like the instances of Rey crawling away from Malenko to the apron gets attacked and then tries to crawl to the other side. There was great Rey selling, but I don't think it was as showcased. They both head to the top and they simultaneously punch each off the top, which I was not a fan of that spot, but the finish run we get is just excellent. Rey hits a tremendous springbaord somersault plancha in the ring that Malenko takes beautifully and is a contender for best Rey spot of the year in a year loaded with them. After struggle between both to negotiate a pinfall, Misterio gets a two and follows up on Malenko with a corkscrew Asai Moonsault well there is another one for the highlight reel. Misterio gets the exact hurricanarana that won him the title, but Malenko kicks out. Tony exclaims that he had never seen someone kick out of that predicament. Ruh Roh! Undeterred, Misterio looks to hit the springboard version and rallies the crowd, but Malenko has a different idea with a POWERBOMB! That should have been the finish. Live by the sword, die by the sword is a favorite finish genre of mine so I am biased. Malenko is looking for his Super Gutbuster, but Misterio looks to counter with top rope Frankensteiner, but we end up with a SUPER GUTWRENCH POWERBOMB!

The shine of the Nitro match with the heat segment of the GAB match and the finish of this match and at the very least you have a contender for the greatest match in WCW history. This is just a tremendous series and this match features some of the most exciting moments in WCW Crusierweight history. Rey was just awesome in the beginning, his selling was great in the heat segment, but not as highlighted as before and the finish stretch was paced perfectly with escalation between spots. Malenko worked a strong heat segment that did a go a bit long without action towards the end, but more than made up for it by telling the great story of a man obsessed with the winning championship. He had Rey scouted. He kicked out of the rana that cost him the title and he crushed Rey on the springboard rana. Then when it came down to the end and it was anyone's ball game on the top rope, Malenko showed that he wanted it just that much more. ****1/4

Finish What Ya Started: WCW Starrcade 1996

Hey yo Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

March Madness is upon us and just liked every year there is a method to the Madness. Your main man, Superstar Sleeze, has it all figured out. I specialize in setting myself up in a position to succeed coming out of the first weekend, but I have had trouble closing in the past couple years.

You can have your bracket busters, I going all in on the BRA BUSTERS!

Very similarly, Starrcade 1996 has a very similar feel with almost all the matches starting off well enough, but having a hard time reaching a satisfying climax. The card is one of the most consistent of all time, there is nothing less than good on this show and there is a great deal of variety on this show, which makes it a breezy watch. However, it is bereft of that one standout match that really carries the day and immortalizes the entire card. This is a shame because it is one of the best booked cards of the NWO era.

The New World Order had run roughshod over WCW since July. Hogan won the World Heavyweight Championship in August and beat back his eternal rival Randy Savage in October. The Outsiders won the World Tag Team Championship. Sting has abandoned WCW because of how his own friends and fans doubted his allegiance. The Giant, Syxx and Eric Bischoff have joined the NWO. It seems like they are a runaway freight train, until Starrcade 1996 when we see the first glimmer of a WCW hope spot in this overarching story.

Lex Luger, being positioned as WCW's hero with Flair injured, Savage a loser, and Sting in hiding, is red hot with the fans and looks to challenge the Giant in what was an excellent Clash of the Titans match. Luger's victory cemented him as WCW's last great hope against the NWO and how it went down kept the Sting mystery angle hot and full of intrigue. Finally, it planted the seeds for The Giant face turn. Trading The Giant for Randy Savage was very smart. Giant never really fit with the NWO's theme of WWF invading forces. The Megapowers & Outsiders made for a much better core for the NWO. The Giant as a dominant babyface foil fit him a lot better and could grow under Luger's tutelage.

Not only did Luger take home a victory over The Giant, Roddy Piper scored an upset against Hollywood Hogan. Hogan notorious for not jobbing losing to Piper was a very effective tool in garnering support for WCW from the fans and letting them there was hope. I am not the biggest Piper fan and I don't know if he was the one I would personally select for this role. I do like how they told the story that Hogan had never beaten Piper and that Piper has that special something that will carry the day. I think they should have gone one step further and put the title on Piper to build up NWO Souled Out and have Hogan regain on his "home" turf. Regardless, seeing WCW win at the end of WCW PPV should have happened more often and they got it right here. The match itself was not as good as I remembered, but they cut one helluva pace for them and it was red hot to start. I loved the portion where Piper was whipping him with the belt. They bit off more than they could chew and were blown up by the time they hit the finish.

The undercard was comprised of a very interesting variety of styles. The Outsider and Faces of Fear had a super fun heavyweight bomb throwing fest. It is my pick for the best Outsiders match of all night (not that is saying much). Barbie and Meng throwing Hall around was a sight to behold. Benoit and Jarrett had elements of a heated brawl in them, but they restrained themselves and it was an uneven match. The finish was horrid and the only booking misfire on the night. Jarrett was booked like shit this entire run and people wonder why he did not get over. Benoit/Dungeon of Doom peaked at Great American Bash 1996 and then just kept dragging on and on. Though I did see a decent Benoit/Meng match. DDP/Eddy was disappointing and would have been tremendous just a year later when they were in the roles they were meant to play. DDP was about to turn face so he was not as heelish as usual, which hurt the match. The finish was predictable, but perfect to get DDP over as the blue collar hero against the NWO and Eddy has a ready-made feud with Syxx.

Faces of Fear: Most Underrated WCW Tag Team?

The Crusierweight Division was booked really strong in 1996 with four strong, unique competitors on top. Malenko was the straight man and ground warrior. Ultimo Dragon was the offensive dynamo. Psychosis was the crazy bumper. Rey Rey was the the underdog everyone loved. Dragon/Malenko is a pairing that I just don't like and don't think it has ever produced the classics that others seem to think they have. The matches are good, but tend to infuriate me because Dragon just refuses to sell for Malenko and Malenko refuses to play babyface. Rey Mysterio vs. Jushin Liger is one of the ultimate dream matches of the 90s and kudos to WCW for booking, but it just did not reach the level you expect from two of the greatest of all time.

All in all, I recommend Starrcade 1996 based on the strength of the quality of wrestlers. This is who competed on this night Malenko, Dragon, Liger, Mysterio, DDP, Guerrero, Benoit, Jarrett, Nash, Hall, Meng, Barbarian, Giant, Luger, Hogan and Piper. That is a fucking murder's row of talent. WCW felt like such an all-star promotion featuring the best of Lucha Libre, Puroresu, WCW and WWF in one promotion. The booking is mostly strong (Benoit/Double J the only exception) and all the matches are at least good. There is a strong variety with crusierweights, heavyweight bombfests, clash of the titans, and brawls. Luger vs Giant is my Match of the Night, which may surprise some, but it was a damn good performance from both that had the crowd rocking. When Luger finally got Giant off his feet, it felt like such a huge accomplishment. If one of these matches elevated itself to classic status then this could be considered GOAT PPV. As is, it is one of the most consistent PPVs of all time.

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs J-Crown Champion Ultimo Dragon  

These wrestlers sure did a great job reinforcing each other’s worst behavior. It was a like a vicious feedback loop where the problems just got compounded as the match progressed. Malenko gave one of his tone-deaf performances where he was committed to wrestling HIS match rather than the match the fans wanted. Dragon was in full one up-manship mode and totally focused on getting his offense over rather than getting the match over. Together these two presented an incredibly disjointed performance. It was not horrible, just really weird and not the classic that I was expecting.

During the entrances, Malenko was surprisingly over with fans especially given he was playing a heel in October against Rey. Though, I think was more due to Dragon playing the evil foreigner archetype than Malenko tweaking his character. The problem with Malenko’s performance was that he would do a big move to pop the crowd and then immediately grab a hold in such a way to kill the excitement of the fans, who just wanted to see him let loose. Malenko clearly wanted to work a mat-based style in order to set up the exciting finishing stretch. Dragon can go on the mat with best of them. His matches with Liger and Ohtani prove that. However, Dragon did not seem to get the memo in this match. I think Dragon was under the impression that American crowds were dumb and they just wanted highspots. So he set out to deliver highspots rather working with Malenko. Ergo the transitions were non-existent and each segment felt artificial and in vacuum.

At the beginning of the match Malenko hit a back drop driver to a big pop only to slap on a chinlock and then have Dragon take over is a perfect example of bringing the crowd up only to let them down. This was another problem with the match it felt too back and forth with not real strong stretch to build heat. Dragon runs through his offense until another Malenko back drop driver wakes up the crowd. Surprisingly, Malenko is selling better than Dragon. In a weird moment, Mike Tenay, resident cruiserweight expert analyst says that Dragon should really be pronounced Dragone for some stupid reason. Dusty thinks this is hilarious and proceeds to call him Dragone the rest of the match. I love Dusty Rhodes and I don’t care who knows it.

The finish is definitely the best part of this match as they just say “Fuck the rest of the match, LETS FUCKIN GO!” Dragon busts out a powerbomb to kick things off and the reverse tombstone spot with Malenko executing is always a crowd-pleaser and a great false finish. Malenko hits a Tiger Driver for 2, which was a killer false finish with Dragon timing his kick-out for maximum effect. Dragon adds the Asai Moonsault and Malenko busts out the Texas Cloverleaf before Dragon is able to garner the victory with a Tiger Suplex.

The finish was fun in the same way a Michael Bay action movie is fun because it is just a bunch of big moves strung together. The body of the match was basically non-existent and did not factor into the finish at all. This match is a perfect case for the detractors of both men as Malenko delivered a rather tepid performance until the end and Dragon focused more getting himself over at the expense of the match. ***

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Rey Mysterio Jr. vs Jushin Thunder Liger - WCW Starrcade 1996

Much like Starrcade 1996 itself as a card, I think this is underrated. I agree it never reaches the levels of OMFG MYSTERIO VS LIGER~!, but it still a great kickass match and better than the overrated Malenko/Dragon bout early on. Mysterio definitely liked working the Savage formula in these matches. He takes a severe beating from Liger. I liked the Malenko match the most because I thought the ground game was a really smart strategy. Dragon's offensive performance is great eye-candy, but seemed too much like an exhibition. Liger splits the difference gives a great high impact beatdown, but does waste a little too much time between moves that kills the urgency of the match. Liger was demolishing Mysterio early and really taking advantage of the size disparity, which Liger must have enjoyed as he usually competed against someone of a similar size of greater. The surfboard spot where he propels into the mat and all the powerbombs looked sick. I really need to watch the WWIII Dragon match back because I thought Mysterio did a better job using the hurricanrana to let us know he was still alive instead of just being a ragdoll for badass moves. Dusty was killing it on commentary. In his own way, I really think he respected these men. I really liked how Tony and Dusty seemed concerned and happy that Liger was able to make a comeback from his brain tumor surgery. I felt that they really appreciated Liger. The Dragon Screw Leg Whip is right up there with his call of a lady in the Men's Bathroom. Honey, that was the Dragon Screw Leg Whip. Oooo I knew that one in reference to a Kappo Kick. Liger telegraphs the Shotei and Mysterio snaps off a hurricanrana. Huge top rope Asai Moonsault! Eat your heart out, Dragon! Mysterio stays right on Liger with a legdrop as Liger looked to re-enter the ring. Mysterio misses the big legdrop and Liger hits a diving headbutt for a two count. Mysterio looks for the coup d'grace a top rope hurricanrana, but Liger hooks the ropes. A kappo kick sets him up for a Ligerbomb and the three count.

The crowd was not into this one at all, which is strange because Rey & Liger on their own were almost always was able to win the crowd over, but it was not clicking for the Nashville crowd. The finish did feel very anti-climatic. I liked the beatdown a lot, but it just did not feel like Mysterio had enough in his arsenal to compete with Liger. I liked the one release German and top rope Asai moonsault, but it never felt like he had Liger in trouble whether it was from quick falls or from a knockout blow. It is a very good match, but it fails to reach the levels of greatness that these two reached with other opponents. ***1/2

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Chris Benoit vs Jeff Jarrett - WCW Starrcade 1996

I really portions of this and other times felt really lukewarm. It was just a very uneven match. Before I get into face/heel dynamics, there were times that I thought this would break loose in a nasty Memphis brawl and everytime I thought they were really going to let go, they restrained themselves and it was so frustrating. Jarrett had some great brawls against the Moondogs in Memphis and others I am sure. Benoit definitely does well when he is in a fight! Everybody always says Jarrett is not very likeable, but Benoit was a fucking great prick in this match and I think Jarrett had some really good fired up spots in this. Then they would flip flop back to Jarrett as the unworthy heel and Benoit as the face asskicker. It was just so confusing. I think everybody has been so conditioned into thinking Jarrett is unlikeable that they prefer him as a heel, but in the ring I think he is a better babyface. When Benoit was smacking the back of the head, I was kinda pissed at first. He seemed like such a bully and when Jarrett popped up and hit him with that right I loved it. I enjoyed Jarrett walking on his back and strutting, but damn I wanted a fight. Again, we get the double leg takedowns and the fists, but then it is back to standard pro wrestling. These two had a great brawl in them. I loved the Woman grabbing Jarrett's arm spot and then Benoit decking him in the back of the head. Dusty just nails it "Don't he know you never stop when a pretty lady stops you on the corner. Thats how you get whacked in the back of the head, baby." Benoit hits the chinlock, but is using the ropes. Jarrett fires back up and is looking for the figure-4, but Woman claws him in the face. Then there is a crazy overbooked finish, which sees Konnan & Hugh Morris trying to kidnap Woman, Sullivan blasting a wooden chair over Benoit's head and AA dropping Jarrett with a DDT. Jarrett wins techincally, but everyone looks like shit. Benoit/Sullivan brawl could have happened afterwards. Jarrett kept getting fucked by the booking in these companies; he actually could have been a bigger deal. By the time, he did, he forgot what good wrestling was and was brainwashed by the Evil One (Vince Russo). ***

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WCW World Tag Team Champions The Outsiders vs Faces of Fear - WCW Starrcade 1996

I really enjoyed the opening portion of this match, which seems to be a trend on this PPV. The first 3/4 of each match have been really damn good, but the finish is either lukewarm or bad. I thought this was a great fight. Meng and Barbarian just go into full on asskicker mode. I thought they were going to try to position them as a the babyfaces, but with the Nashville crowd being solidly NWO country they wisely made the Outsiders the de facto babyfaces. Meng and Barbarian have never much for selling, but hitting big spots now that's their shit. Meng just absolutely lit up Scott Hall early. I mean he was a steamroller. Nash cornered Barbie at one point only for Barbie to fight back with chops. Nash trying the double noggin knocker only to energize the Faces of Fear was fucking awesome! Faces of Fear double headbutt to Nash. Nash desperately hits Snake Eyes to tag out to Hall, who is detained by Meng and WHAM! KICK OF FEAR TAKES HIS HEAD OFF! Faces of Fear fucking rule! Meng piledrives Hall. Barbie fucking powerbombs Hall. Yes, he powerbombs him. Holy shit! Meng atomic drop and another Kick of Fear. Faces of Fear should have been tag team champions for forever and a day. Nash nails Barbie while he is running the ropes. The Faces of Fear had done something similar and like how both teams are cheating and getting chippy with each other. A long nerve hold is the only thing that kept this match from being great as it was pretty damn boring. Hot tag to Nash, who actually hits a pretty good big boot. Not Barbarian level good, but pretty damn good on the Big Sexy Sliding Scale of Big Boots. Nash hits an ugly but effective powerbomb on Barbabrian to a big pop, the biggest of the night so far. Best Outsiders match I have ever seen. Faces of Fear have had better with Sting & Luger and Guerrero & Malenko, but damn good effort. I love the fighting early to finally get control and the heat segment was awesome. Take out the nerve hold and replace with a longer finish stretch and this would be a great match. ***1/4

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Diamond Dallas Page vs Eddy Guerrero - WCW Starrcade 1996 Vacant US Championship

A match just year later between these two would be a dream match for me. As it stands, this was another very good match on a card that literally does not have one bad match. Of course, Starrcade 1996 was missing that one truly transcendent match to rank among the best cards of all time. This match pits white meat Eddy Guerrero against cigar-smoking, scuzzball white trash DDP. Both find more success once they turned, but here they put on a nice little match. DDP tones down the stooging and big bumping early probably because he was anticipating his babyface turn and wanted to present a more serious character. Eddy outwrestles him and when DDP tries to intimidate him with his size, Eddy does not back down with an overhand chop. Eddy hits a nice cross body to the floor to reach the climax of his shine. DDP slips through a ten count punches to drop Eddy face first on the turnbuckle. DDP used that to turn the tide against Sting in 1999. I liked that a nice heel transition spot, good stuff Dallas. DDP works a nice ab stretch attacking the ribs and using the ropes. I definitely prefer the ab stretch to the reverse chinlock, a lot more options at your disposal while you are catching your breath. DDP runs shoulder first into the post. Eddy takes advantage with a brainbuster, which is the prelude to the CRASH AND BURN! Could not land the Frogsplash. DDP thinks it is wise to go upstairs, but his balls meet the top turnbuckle. Hey, one last DDP heel bump is a nice parting gift. Eddie gets a series of nearfalls to avoid the Diamond Cutter, but cant avoid the Spinning Powerbomb, which is DDP's nearfall, before the overbooking. Hall drops him with the Diamond Death Drop (it would have been cool if they brought up that history) because DDP refuses an offer to join the New World Order. This all happens unbeknowst to Eddy who hits the frogsplash for the win. It was a very strong fundamentals performance, but without the color of a usual DDP heel performance it feels tepid. DDP clearly did not want to overshadow Eddy so Eddy was still presented as the face. This all led to a very restrained feel. It is strange this entire card featured a ton of good, but not great wrestling and mostly because nobody wanted to let loose. Another good match, I can't complain about that. ***

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Lex Luger vs The Giant - WCW Starrcade 1996

On a night where Benoit, Mysterio, Liger, Malenko, Dragon and Guerrero competed, my match of the night honors goes to The Total Package and The Giant. On a night where all the matches seemed to be plagued by anticlimatic, lukewarm finishes after great starts, this match started hot, stayed hot and finished hot. Luger was at the peak of his popularity during this time and really felt like the lead babyface of WCW. Yes, he was a better wrestler in that hot streak of 88-91, but he was so incredibly over here. The early tests of strength were so well done. Rather than show that Luger would be at a disadvantage they actually let Luger drive him to a standstill and Giant got frustrated. I have never thought of Luger having great worked punches, but he really had Giant reeling with them. Giant was so good really on conveying his frustration and almost shock that his natural size was not carrying the day for him. Giant smokes him with a clothesline out of the corner and punts him to the outside. Giant's work over the back is simply awesome much like a Caribbean Queen. Luger is so good at selling especially verbally as the breath evacuates his lungs he really lets you know. Giant was really smacking leather with those forearms to the back and I am always a mark for Giant stepping on people. The crowd chants for Luger and he goes for the slam and Giant falls on top of him. Awesome hope spot! Luger avoids certain doom when Giant misses a dropkick. Luger fires up with punches and forearms that whips the crowd into a frenzy. Weeble wobble, but The Giant won't fall down. Luger neckbreaker and the crowd EXPLODES~! i would have done the slam spot there since it got overshadowed by the overbooking. Syxx & Nick Patrick save The Giant from getting racked, but Sting drives them off. Sting leaves a bat in the middle of the ring may the best man get it. Giant steps on the bat while Luger just looks up at him. Ruh roh. BALLSHOT! Luger nails him with the bat a couple times and 1-2-3 and a HUGE POP!

I loved this as a Clash of the Titans spectacle. From the opening collar elbow tie up to the Sting run-in, this felt like a megamatch. They built to Luger taking The Giant off his feet so well. This was probably the Giant's best match at this point in his career. Luger looks like a huge star here, which they needed badly. This also sows the seeds for The Giant's babyface turn, which is necessary to keep a strong face/heel ratio. If there was a really strong definitive finish like a torture rack, then I would say this is truly a lost great match, but as is, it is the first among equals on a very damn good night of wrestling. ***3/4

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WCW World Champion Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper - WCW Starrcade 1996

Liz looked pissed off all night especially during the Hogan interview before the match. I wonder what was up. Piper's promo was the usual nonsense except the line that it is hard to carry a piano in a parade cracked me up.

Staying with the theme of the night, these two were rocking it early, but got blown up late to finish this with the proper punch. I loved Hogan early shouting at the ref to watch Piper on the break only to paintbrush him. Hogan trying to antagonize  Piper early by cheating and breaking his momentum by powdering was great shit. Piper looked good for the most part as a asskicking babyface taking it to Hogan. I liked Piper clamping on a headlock to inhibit Hogan from escaping, but then Hogan gets a nasty break on the rope and snaps his neck there. I thought Hogan would take over here, but Piper kept it going. Hogan says he has had enough. Then in my favorite part of the match, Piper finally follows him and starts whipping him like a scalded dog. DiBiase trips up Piper and now we get the Hogan heat segment. Hogan is such a good heel at this point and is so much bigger than Piper that a natural sympathy builds. He goes after Piper's bad hip, which does make Piper and Hogan feel old when you taking about hip surgeries. They blow up here, which is too bad because they were cutting a great pace early. There was pretty much no down time at all and I think that cost them here. Hogan misses the leg drop! The Giant senses the problem so here he comes. A fan fucks up the finish. Piper gnaws at The Giant's face. SLEEPER HOLD! PIPER WINS! HUGE POP! But he does not win the belt! Bullshit! I actually think they should have done a quickie title change here and had Hogan win the belt back on his "home" turf of NWO Souled Out. The early portion was great shit with Hogan playing the best damn heel in the world at that point. He was scummy, cowardly and vicious. You wanted to see Piper kick his ass and you really got that during the part where he was whipping him with the belt. They just lost steam going into the finish. I need to rewatch the Luger and DDP matches, but this may be the best Hollywood Hogan match. ***1/4

Feels Like The First Time: Rey Mysterio, Psicosis, Dean Malenko (WCW, 1996)

Hey yo  Stud Muffins & Foxy Ladies,

It has been too fucking awesome for far too long to not be included in my intro blurbs. The Sonny Corthinos/Michael Quartermaine angle on General Hospital has been the best thing on TV since October. It is heated with tons of great twists and turns that are logical, but bring catch you off guard. I really dug the most recent twist of Michael manipulating the custody hearing judge to be his grandmother's boyfriend and then promo that Sonny cut from the witness stand was straight cash money just print it from that ATM. It is a total mystery how vapid talk shows like The View do well compared to the incredible TV General Hospital has been putting out between Sonny/Michael, the return of Helena and pretty much anything Ava Jerome touches (so the Luke storyline has been a little much, but I am still holding out hope). One thing is for sure there is no fucking way WWE is written by soap opera writers or maybe they are bottom of the barrel soap opera writers because if WWE was written by GH's writers it would actually be compelling and have continuity.

HIRE HER GH!

Let's go back to simpler times when WCW ran by 50 different individuals at once. :)

After revisiting 1995, I got the itch to keep pressing on to watch more great WCW with the idea being to crown what I think is the greatest WCW match in history. Culling a list from the Smarkschoice poll and my favorite website ProWrestlingOnly.com, I came up with pretty much a "Usual Suspects" list. I will definitely fill in the gaps, but I just feel like watching great wrestling and even if I seen it before, I have not seen it in like two years and have not really characterized the landscape. The goal is to plow through the last half of the decade (the weaker half for match quality) and then slowly work my way through the front half.

1996 WCW was the first year of midcarders carrying the match quality workload from the main eventers, which became one facet of WCW's reputation during the Monday Night Wars. There were some good main event matches in 1996 contrary to popular belief. I don't think anyone would be a contender for greatest WCW match of all time. I really liked Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper from Starrcade 1996, which is probably the greatest Hollywood Hogan singles match of all time as fun popcorn match. The 1996 Wargames of WCW vs NWO and Flair vs Savage in the Cage at SuperBrawl were both very good heated matched. It was not likely the main event was completely bereft of great matches. I am actually intrigued at the prospect of The Giant vs Flair, Sting or Luger in the front half of the year as all sound like fun matches.

While those are all entertaining affairs, 1996 belonged to one phenom, Rey Misterio Jr. Misterio took WCW and the US by storm by firing off amazing match after amazing match through 1996 and pretty much single-handedly made the Crusierweight Championship a can't miss, must see match on every PPV. I have encountered a lot of discussion about the order of matches WCW chose to debut Rey. Traditionally, Rey would debut in a new promotion (WAR, ECW) against Tijuana rival, Psicosis. The Rey/Psicosis touring match in 1995 was probably the hottest international ticket of the year as it got over in Tokyo, Philadelphia and Mexico City without issue. As I explain below in their Bash At The Beach 1996 match, Psicosis was made for Rey Misterio and Rey Misterio was made for Psicosis. They bring out the very best in each other and they accentuate each other's positives. Psicosis always knew how to make Rey shine whether with HUGE bumps or clowning. But when it came time to kick ass, he is so much bigger than Rey that when he got nasty instantaneously Rey was garnering that sympathy. Rey for his part was one of the best sellers in the world at 21 years of age with great verbal selling and believe the hype when it comes to Rey's hope spots. So with all this, you expect me to come down hard on WCW for not following template and having Rey debut against someone else not so fast. WCW was a national promotion and I think showcasing Rey against an American talent and proving that Rey could kick ass in the American style was more critical. Psicosis was his safety blanket and they took that away from him. It was sink or swim. I don't think Malenko gobbled him up. I think it set up Rey's highspots really well and it allowed him to sell for the audience and rally the, Yes, the match needed a better shine to whet the audience's appetite so that they would better understand what to expect. In turn this sets Rey up even better for Bash At The Beach. Now he is a proven commodity so the crowd will be behind him and now they get to see him against Psicosis. They can pay that eager anticipation off with a kickass match. I think there are multiple ways to skin a cat. I can see where WCW is coming from on this one and I think either order would suit Rey fine. At the end of the day, Rey was going to get over no matter what because the cream always rises to the top and Rey is the cream of the crop, BABY!

Match Listing:

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr. - WCW GAB 1996 ****1/2

One of the best aerial vs ground matches of all time. Needs a better shine to get to the next level.

Chris Benoit vs Kevin Sullivan - WCW Great American Bash 1996 ***1/2

Really fun brawl. Sullivan was vicious. "There is a woman in the men's bathroom!" is classic. Benoit needed to kick more ass.

Chris Benoit w/Woman & Miss Elizabeth vs Dean Malenko – WCW Hog Wild 1996 ***1/2

Impressive offense, but feels too much like "your turn, my turn"

Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996 ****1/2

Breath-taking highspots, Psicosis bumps huge and vicious. Rey is the ultimate babyface. Better transitions would take this to the next level.

J-Crown Champion Ultimo Dragon vs Rey Mysterio Jr. - World War III 1996 ***1/2

Greatest offensive exhibition of all time? Feels too much like an exhibition to rate any higher. 

WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko vs Rey Misterio Jr.

Great American Bash 1996 

This match simultaneously salvaged the fledging cruiserweight division and made it into a sensation over night. This match is the best exhibition of Malenko’s chain wrestling being entertaining and working well within the confines of the layout. Malenko knows he cannot let Rey create space between them or otherwise face the damage of Rey’s vaunted aerial attack. If he can ground Rey, he eliminates that threat. That is the crux of the match Rey trying to squirm away from Malenko and Malenko trying to wrangle Rey.

From the outset, Malenko is one who is able to strike first with a cool looking Greco-Roman knucklelock arm snapping-thingy. It looked sweet trust me. He works over that arm relentlessly and convincingly with a great variety of moves. It always feels like he is trying to gain a new advantage or add a different degree of pain to Rey’s arm to keep him off-balance. My favorite moment is a flying hammerlock into a kimura that just looks so fuckin sweet. The key in this control segment is that Rey still has hope spots. This was Rey’s debut and it was critical to have these hope spots especially when he did not get an opening shine or you run the risk of jobberizing him.

As the match progresses and Dean is still struggling to put Rey away, you come to see a recurring theme with Malenko he does show emotion. Dean is not more relatable wrestler or the best seller, but he is really good at selling frustration at the inability to put an opponent away. This combined with Rey’s resilience and sympathetic underdog selling creates a very powerful story for the audience that is rooting for the underdog in this debut match against the champion.

When Dean finally does lose control, Rey unleashes that arsenal of aerial maneuvers, which both wow the fans and does a good job displaying why Dean was working so hard to ground Rey. The finish is thrilling with Rey’s quick pinfall attempts and all his quick counters. However, he finally succumbs to a massive powerbomb by Dean, who puts his feet on the ropes for three. The finish is a satisfying climax to this cat and mouse game. Rey looks like a champ with hot finish and Dean is able to retain due to one big move.

Most of what I have read has been in favor of declaring this match a classic, but it feels that many feel the need to defend it against a vocal minority that believes Dean gobbled up Rey for too long. Now, if Dean just sat in an armbar for the entirety of his lengthy heat segment, I would agree. Dean was really active with a lot of gnarly submissions and high-impact blows into pinfalls. It truly felt like he was trying to win a match and I can appreciate that. I think where these critics have a point is that Dean should not have immediately entered into a heat segment. In their subsequent Nitro match in July, Rey has a really cool babyface shine to open it. In that match, it really sets up the idea of what Dean has to fear. If Dean can not ground him, Rey will have him going in circles and Dean really sells that frustration in that match well. In this match, you don’t really get the feeling that Dean has anything to worry about in the context of the match because Rey did not open with anything. The drama in the Great American Bash would have been greatly enhanced by allowing Rey to hit a couple big moves off the bat to demonstrate how he lethal he could be. Since I brought up the Nitro match, the big problem with that match is that Malenko’s heat segment really meanders and is not really as good as this one. The Great American Bash match is a better complete match.

In sum, I think if you tack the babyface shine segment from the Nitro match and splice it into the Great American Bash match you have a Match of the Year Candidate for 1996. As is, it is one of three best matches from 1996 in WCW (Mysterio/Psychosis, Benoit/Sullivan), but doesn’t rank that highly in the world. This heat segment definitively proves in my mind that Dean Malenko is not boring. Can he be boring? Yes and we will see that! But he definitely can be a fuckin fantastic offensive wrestler. I think Dean’s strong suit is as a heel. Malenko is one of the few American wrestlers to always be straddling the face/heel line. I think if the booking team just went full bore with Dean as a sadistic, ground-based heel he would have had more entertaining matches consistently. This match showed how effective he could be as a yin to Mysterio’s yang. Mysterio for his part continued his campaign to be best wrestler in North America. I agree that Mysterio should have worked the majority of the match from underneath. His selling endeared him to the fans, his hope spots were well-timed to keep the audience engaged, and the match was structured to give his aerial spots time to breathe and seem more important to the audience. In the Dragon match, he will not be so lucky. 

One thing I want to debunk is that at least initially the commentary team (sans the Brain) did a very good job trying to get over the cruiserweights. You could feel how excited Dusty was to watch them and how much he enjoyed their work. As time progressed, of course like with all things in the mid-card, the WCW commentary team would just ignore it and talk about the Hogan-related item of the night.

Chris Benoit vs Kevin Sullivan - WCW Great American Bash 1996

Two years in a row (they make it three the following year with Page/Savage II), the Great American Bash delivers another a great brawl between two opponents that hate each other. Benoit picking up the slack for the departed Pillman challenges The Taskmaster in a falls count anywhere match. Obviously, the match is most famous for the fight in the Men's Bathroom and Dusty's hysterical call of the woman in the men's bathroom. It features some really good action from Sullivan. I loved his short right jab to Benoit's eye. He was just nasty this entire fight with eye gouges, slamming the stall door on Benoit's head and throwing Benoit down a flight of stairs. Hell, my favorite part was probably the double stomp on the bathroom floor. I think Tony's call of a cover near the commode is pretty funny too. The reason I don't think this is an all-time great brawl was a surprising one. I did not feel like Benoit's comeback or offense had a lot of fire. I think Benoit's greatest strength is that he is an awesome asskicker. I just did not feel like he is kicking much ass in this match. Sullivan was also taking bumps really gingerly so maybe he was trying to protect Sully. Loved Dusty's call of "You just gotta that plundah, right, baby" when Benoit was mounting the table in the corner. Superplex off the table gets a huge pop, which strikes me as weird because it was not any extra height, it was just extra dangerous because table wobbled. Maybe Benoit was just that over! He definitely was not with the Sturgis crowd. AA proves he is Horsemen 4 Life when he kicks The Taskmaster ass and the crowd pops mad. Very entertaining match. ***1/2

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Rey Misterio Jr. vs Psicosis – Bash At The Beach 1996

Growing up, Psicosis was one of my favorite wrestlers just based on look alone. I would argue that he had even cooler costume than La Parka, but La Parka had the dance moves & chair so it was a close call. I was always disappointed that he was never featured at the same level of Rey Misterio or Juventud Guerrera. It turns out these childhood feelings have been validated by the fact that Psicosis is really fucking good. Both going back through the old footage and reading other people’s opinions that Psicosis is one of the best workers in the world in the mid-90s. Unfortunately, he was not able to sustain his greatness in the late 90s while his arch-nemesise, Rey Misterio Jr. really took off. Misterio and Psicosis have a history that dates back to Tijuana wrestling scene of the 90s. Psicosis was the clown, base and vicious heel to Rey Misterio’s undersized underdog with revolutionary high-flying. They were the perfect mix and they took their act on tour. From their home promotion of AAA (an upstart lucha libre promotion challenging CMLL think the American League or AFL), they travelled to Japan to wow the crowds there and then came to Philadelphia to the little promotion that could, ECW. In 1996, in an effort to further differentiate WCW from WWF, Eric Bischoff brought in a small army of luchadores to populate the fledging WCW cruiserweight division. So logically, the hottest match of 1995 was featured for the first time for a wide scale American audience when Rey Misterio and Psicosis locked up at Bash At The Beach 1996.

It would be so easy for Misterio and Psicosis to just hit a myriad of mind-numbing highspots to astonish and amaze a virgin audience, but what makes these two among the all-time greats is how they transition and build to those highspots for maximum sensory impact. For that reason, this match holds up as one of the best matches in the history of WCW and one of the best PPV openers in any company of all time. Psicosis is consummate heel in this match. He knows when to let Rey shine and when to get vicious to put that heat on Rey. It is a great selfless performance that makes Rey look one of the biggest stars of the world, but in doing so elevates himself and the match. It was surprising to me that first highspot went to Psicosis with a gorgeous suicide dive over the top rope. Unlike all the wussy dives through the ropes recently, this one really wipes Rey out. Psicosis is just great laying down a wicked beating on Rey. Rey is so great at verbal selling as Psicosis whips, chops and slams him. Psicosis nails him with a top rope guillotine leg drop. There is a definite sense of Psicosis attacking the neck and looking to take the wind out of the high-flying Misterio, which is a great strategy against the quick Rey Rey. Psicosis takes his first crazy, hellacious bump, which is a monkey flip on the apron that propels him into the post. WOW! Misterio hits a rana off the apron and then a springboard hurricanrana spikes Psicosis only gets two. The match never feels like an exhibition even the objective of the match is to showcase these crazy spots. The competitors still care about the win and loss. Psicosis does a great job selling his knee after a Rey dropkicks his knee. Trying to chop down the bigger man is not a bad strategy for Rey especially after getting his ass kicked for a good chunk there. Psicosis quashes the Misterio comeback with a droptoehold and locks on a nasty headscissors. I loved Rey’s screams. One of the best worked headscissors I have ever seen and a perfect use of it: a heel who needs to stop the bleeding and sap the energy from a babyface. Good stuff.  Psicosis is targeting the neck again as he sends him flying into the top rope. Rey powders to catch his breath, but Psicosis is right on him dropping him neck first on the railing. Then he hits a senton from the top rope to the floor. WOW! Psicosis’ offense is breath-taking and violent, perfect. Back in the ring, Psicosis applies a camel clutch and fishhooks him. Psicosis is just fucking killing it. Misterio is like Woah, woah I am pretty fucking good too so he busts out a cartwheel into a hurricanarana and a mind-blowing top rope hurricanarana onto Psicosis that was standing on the apron. Holy shit, I think all these spots would still blow the majority of WWE’s current audience’s mind in 2015. Psicosis takes one of my favorite bumps when he gets dropkicked in the back of the head, he slides belly first onto the floor. Misterio hits a twisting corkscrew Asai Moonsault and everybody loses their shit. You can tell how much Tenay loved calling that while Dusty and Bobby were just like What the Fuck. I think while Bobby would vacillate between not giving a shit and putting over the crusierweights, The Dream seemed to be really entertained by them and in his own way put them over at every chance. Psicosis is able to catch Rey with a powerbomb and it actually looks really good. Psicosis is looking for Splash Mountain and Rey hits a crazy rana to win the match. WOW!

I have seen this match a couple times before and I am always blown away by how good it is. Matches that revolve around showcasing spots usually don’t age that well, but this match was as character-driven as it was spot-driven. Not to mention, these spots were crazy awesome and hold up totally. To me a heel is selfless, big bumping and vicious. Psicosis just had that in spades. He took two crazy bumps and hit some amazing highspots. He was always vicious with how he attacked Misterio. Misterio is just an all time great. His verbal selling was off the charts and he was great as a ragdoll for Psicosis to throw around, but when it came to blow people’s minds. He never failed. That finish run is just one incredible highspot after the other all with the purpose of winning the match. Definitely a contender for best WCW match of 90s and a testament to the greatness of the Rey Misterio/Psicosis series. ****1/2

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Chris Benoit w/Woman & Miss Elizabeth vs Dean Malenko – WCW Hog Wild 1996

At least Miss Elizabeth & Woman were on the hard camera, so that gives it a leg up on modern WWE and 2000s indy wrestling. Seriously, we need more female valets to add a bit of color and glamour to the product. Trotting out Dolph Ziggler and Bad News Brown for a heatless spotfest would be so much better with some extracurricular pieces at ringside. This is not just me being a shallow dude, the most heat in this match was because Woman interfered and that’s because it was something of consequence. I am being a little harsh because Benoit and Malenko are just of the greatest at execution so a 30 minute spotfest by them is better than run of the mill spotfest of the 21^st century, but it is still not great and it is not the fault of Sturgis Bikers that they did not “get” this match because there was nothing to get.

First the match layout is totally disconnected from the angle. The angle being presented is that Malenko was hired to take Benoit out by Kevin Sullivan & The Dungeon of Doom. Given the fact it was a blood feud, I don’t think Malenko proving he is the better wrestler and earning Benoit’s respect through an intricate and very cool rollup/bridge sequence was what The Taskmaster had in mind. The match layout is a classic layout with two great wrestlers trying to pin each other in a scientific and classy manner. Then they are just like fuck that layout and fuck the angle. We are going for bombs. It was just suplexes, headbutts and slams galore. At least, Dusty was hilarious trying to pronounce “Millennium”.   The one thing they have going for them is that they are at least making the effort to show they are concerned about winning by going for covers often and trying to put their opponent away. However, there is not much long-term selling and they are just hitting moves willy-nilly. Thus we go to the first draw. In the first overtime, at least, Benoit cheats a little by clocking Malenko from behind while he discussing the rules with the ref. Benoit applies a Texas Cloverleaf and just lets go. This is my least favorite thing in all of wrestling. Such an eyeball-roll inducing spot. Benoit goes after leg with some holds, but none as convincing as the Cloverleaf he had on! Again, we get a draw and now the crowd is getting hot. They are pissed that this match is dragging on forever. The last fall was actually the most interesting. Benoit hits his finish at the time, the Dragon Suplex, which Malenko kicks out. Now Malenko applies the Cloverleaf and as Benoit makes it to the ropes, Malenko switches to an STF, which is genius. Woman rakes Malenko’s eyes and Benoit rolls up. What a totally out of context finish to just a really weird match. It was entertaining watching this from an offensive exhibition. From an offense point of view, this was and still is state of the art blowing pretty much everything out of the water in terms of crispness and damage level. The lack of a hook or any consequence to the moves really hurt this. ***1/2

Thats the fuckin J-Crown. Pretty Badass

J-Crown Champion Ultimo Dragon vs Rey Mysterio Jr.

World War III 1996

[The J-Crown was a set of 8 cruiserweight/junior heavyweight titles from around the world including incidentally enough the WWF Light Heavyweight Title. At the height of the Monday Night Wars the WWF Light Heavyweight Title was being defended on WCW television is incredible and also so WCW that they did not notice. The J-Crown always looked impressive as Dragon would walk out with his 8 titles on TV. I actually just watched the two most famous matches from the J-Crown tournament. I highly recommend the semi-final between Shinjiro Ohtani (my choice for best wrestler in the world in 1996) and Ultimo Dragon. The final between Great Sasuke and Ultimo Dragon is a fun high-flying exhibition, but the semi-final is one of the best junior heavyweight matches ever.]

Rey Mysterio had become the centerpiece of WCW’s cruiserweight division, but had dropped the title back to Malenko at Halloween Havoc, the previous month. In this match, it is Rey’s job to cement Ultimo Dragon as the top heel of the cruiserweight division. This is the match where people rightfully so complain of Rey getting gobbled up by Dragon’s offense. Whereas, the Malenko match felt like a struggle where two men were trying to win a match with natural strategies, this match felt like an exhibition of Dragon’s spots. Don’t get me wrong, Dragon has some pretty nifty spots (he busts out the Giant Swing!!!), but never feels like he is trying to win. Instead, he is just trying to show-off all his cool moves. Here is a list of the cool moves:

• Spinning Argentine Backbreaker
• Giant Swing
• Slingshot Powerbomb
• His Intricate Outside the ring sequence
• Spinning Tombstone Piledriver
• Running Ligerbomb
• Brainbuster
• Surprisingly did not do the Asai Moonsault (named after him)

This is the type of story that always falls flat with me. It is simply because there is no story. There is not a struggle. It is just an exhibition. It is fun visually, but not emotionally. In addition, Dragon did really use anything to set up his moves. Usually, he uses a ground game to weaken his opponents before he works his shit in. Instead, it just felt like pick up Rey and do his spots.

Rey be assertive. Where were your hope spots? The match was dying because of the babyface was getting totaled out there. It looked like match I had against my stuffed bear yesterday erm I mean 15 years ago. I totally mean 15 years ago.

Dusty was cracking me up throughout the match, but this quote not only makes me laugh, but is accurate portrayal of the match “This is pants-down momma spankin you whuppin!”  Of course at the finish, Rey does make his comeback and hits his visually impressive spots like his somersault plancha. The finish was hot, but the how fuck would the finish not be hot when you have Dragon with his ZILLION moves and Rey flying around at a mile a minute. They had a perfect ending: Dragon is able to catch Rey Rey off the springboard and hit a fuckin Slingshot Powerbomb (BITCHIN~!) for the win.

I have watched this match a lot because I happen to love watching Ultimo Dragon’s offense, but it is not a very dramatic match and thus loses a lot of points in my book. ***1/2

Spoiler Alert: Dragon wont sell the leg