The SmarK Rant for WCW Main Event – 08.17.92
Continuing Black History Month on the Network with a show that I actually did watch on TBS back when it originally aired. Holy balls I’m old.
Your hosts are Eric Bischoff & Teddy Long, future dueling GMs!
Barry Windham v. Tracy Smothers
This was during the weird period where the Young Pistols were heels. I never got that strategy on WCW’s part. Windham works a headlock while Erik Watts looks on at ringside. Bischoff feels like it might another family legacy in the making. You know, really, if Erik had just changed his name and come in as someone else without the monster push, he might have been an OK worker just based on his look and size alone. I wonder if Bill ever feels bad about that. Barry continues with the exciting headlock, but runs into a boot and Tracy takes over. Windham with a sunset flip for two, but Smothers comes back with a dropkick for two. Tracy goes up and gets caught, and Barry makes the comeback with a gut wrench suplex for two. Floatover suplex gets two. Lariat finishes at 4:35. That would fall under the auspices of Perfectly Acceptable Wrestling. **1/2
Jimmy Garvin v. Jushin Liger
Yes, this is actually a match that happened. Could this pairing be any more random? Garvin throws knees in the corner and pounds him down. Liger comes back with dropkicks for two, but Garvin takes him down and works on the leg. Liger comes back with the koppo kick and finishes with the moonsault at 3:10. What a weird trainwreck that was. *
Update! With Eric Bischoff! Let us take you back to WCW Saturday Night, where Ricky Steamboat apparently wins the TV title from Steve Austin, but accidentally used an international object to do so, resulting in the decision being overturned.
Big Josh & Marcus Alexander Bagwell v. Terry Gordy & Steve Williams
This should be a glorious slaughter. The Miracle Violence Connection were the tag champs at this point, but this is non-title. Williams works a lockup with Josh, but Josh starts slugging away on both champs until Williams just KILLS him with a backdrop suplex. Gordy with a suplex for two and Williams puts him down with a hard clothesline for two. I bet Borne was just eating this up after months of working as the goofy lumberjack. Gordy with a corner clothesline and he drops an elbow for two. Doc with a shoulderblock in the corner, but Gordy misses a blind charge and Josh puts him down hard and makes the hot tag to Bagwell. Thesz Press gets two on Gordy, but Josh accidentally distracts the ref and Bagwell gets destroyed by a Gordy powerslam off the middle rope to finish at 5:44. Man I loved these guys at the time. **
WCW World title: Big Van Vader v. Ron Simmons
Simmons pounds away in the corner and sends Vader out of the ring with a clothesline, and back in Simmons hits him with a spinebuster for two. Blind charge hits boot, however, and Vader takes over. Vader with the clubbering in the corner and he follows with an avalanche and clothesline into a splash for two. Chokeslam and Vader goes up with a flying splash for two. Jim Ross on commentary is really selling the shit out of this one. Vader puts him down with a clothesline again and tries a suplex, but Simmons gets his own. That was pretty impressive. Vader just clobbers him again, but Simmons gets a backslide for two. Vader misses a charge and Simmons gets two. Vader blocks a sunset flip and tries the powerbomb, but Simmons escapes and powerslams him for the title at 9:48. And to say the crowd goes BATSHIT is an understatement. There’s a little kid in the front row who is about to jump the railing with excitement. *** And in a nice touch, all the babyfaces come out and celebrate and strap the title on him.
Van Hammer v. Eric Davidson
You’d think the World title change would close the show, but no, that’s not how WCW rolls. Hammer finishes this goof with the slingshot suplex at 0:50.
Update with Eric Bischoff, and Johnny B. Badd is a person that exists. That’s about it.
They probably should have closed with the title match. Still a really fun show.
Didn't Simmons v. Vader actually happen on Saturday Night? Since Simmons was a replacement for Sting since he was taken out by Jake the Snake
ReplyDeleteI thought it was on Worldwide. Guess I'm wrong.
ReplyDeleteIt was Main Event according to thehistoryofwwe.com but I'm wondering when the attack on Sting occurred.
ReplyDeleteOkay, it was all the same taping but Sting getting attacked took place the week before? Still not sure of the timeline because I remember Simmons won the title shot at random and wanted the match right away.
ReplyDeleteAs a very young mark, I thought Simmons was going to get murdered. Vader was the scariest motherfucker
A World Championship for a World Champion Theme Song.
ReplyDeleteThe action in Simmons/Vader was excellent. Awesome bigger guy match.
ReplyDeleteOh snap, I didn't realize Ron's title win was ever televised. Nice.
ReplyDeleteImagine the shitstorm today if the top heel in the company destroys the number one babyface for the World Title only to lose it 3 weeks later to a mid-carder.
ReplyDeleteI saw something I never saw before on this show. That tag team match from Centre Stage had a different logo lit up everywhere. It was just a regular WCW logo instead of the WCW Saturday Night one, and the wrestlers came out of a different curtain that appeared to be covering up the WCW Saturday Night hallway entrance that was used at that time.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same light up sign. The "Saturday Night" part is just turned off.
ReplyDeleteSimmons wasn't exactly a mid-carder and they were trying to win back a lot of the African American audience in the South that WWF took when they signed JYD.
ReplyDeleteIt was a house show in Baltimore. The attack on Sting happened earlier in the show at the end of the Rude/Koloff match.
ReplyDeleteYea, but was it all the same program or did WCW space it out by a week?
ReplyDeleteRumors of Vader also injured to push it but mostly Watts just trying to recreate the JYD flair with Simmons which didn't quite work out.
ReplyDeleteThis episode shows the full match for the first time (simmons was already champ on tv at time of airing)...if I recall the roberts/sting stuff occurs the same night as this match in wcw lore. I remember first sting then the drawing then simmons winnning all in a set of clips announcing it all at once.
ReplyDelete"You’d think the World title change would close the show, but no, that’s not how WCW rolls."
ReplyDeleteAgreed that it's odd, but wasn't that how Saturday Night's Main Event was a lot of the time, too? How it was explained to me with SNME was that it was to mirror the SNL pattern( since it was in its timeslot and all): ie, you don't put your best thing on last because it ends at midnight and some of your viewers won't make it that far.
So that makes a little sense...yeah, I don't have a good answer for why WCW wouldn't close with their historic title change.
It's also a remnant from when the main event would go on in the middle of a show to avoid curfew issues.
ReplyDeleteYeah he took down legendary heavyweights like Terry Taylor,Mr.Hughes & Cactus Jack in the preceding PPV's of 1992.
ReplyDeleteIt's 1992 WCW. Simmons wasn't long off the Doom-Steiners feud, which was huge.
ReplyDelete"a how that I actually did watch on TBS back when it originally aired. Holy balls I’m old." DITTO buddy
ReplyDeleteWasn't this right around the time that the intro to WCW Saturday Night was changed to look like a blatant, poorly produced rip-off of the Saturday Night Live intro?
ReplyDeletethat guitar riff opening was legendary
ReplyDeleteit was a tv taping, so other matches were used on the various other shows to
ReplyDeleteI remember watching this episode as a kid too, although I loved Vader and hated that he lost the belt.
ReplyDeleteIn kayfabe, did the Sting stuff happen the same night, Simmons got the shot?
ReplyDeleteI think WCW had shown the Simmons stuff already and Main Event was the first time they showed it in full?
Now I'm confused, but I do remember clear as day watching Simmons win the belt and freaking out
Doom-Steiners
ReplyDeleteThat was 2 years earlier!
I'm amazed Scott was even able to watch the show at all given the constant crashing that's been happening on the Network all week. You'd think that since they hit the 1 million subscriber mark that they would finally upgrade their servers to meet demand plus baseball season is over so it's not like MLBAM is even distracted right now.
ReplyDeleteAny other UK wrestling fans of a certain age remember the HORROR of having to program your VCR to record WCW in the middle of the night during this period? Technology was not as easy as it is now...
ReplyDeleteHelluva finish. Teasing the typical miracle spots then Simmons catches Vader with a finishing blow. Great moment.
ReplyDeleteDon't step to Ron
ReplyDeleteMan do I love the crowd reaction to this match.
ReplyDeleteNot just the UK. Here in Canada my first exposure to WCW was either Main Event or Worldwide (or possibly something else) that aired Saturday nights right before SNL.
ReplyDeleteAnd? It's not like guys haven't hovered in the mid-card after main eventing to then jump back into the ME picture.
ReplyDeleteI don't live in the U.K. but I do remember the horror of having to program my VCR to record WCW Pro and Smoky Mountain Wrestling at 1:30 and 2:30am on Sunday nights as well as USWA at 3am on Saturday nights. Such a price to pay to watch some great wrestling and yet ESPN aired awful wrestling every afternoon at great time slots, go figure.
ReplyDeleteTHEY CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
ReplyDeleteThis is actually the first WCW show I ever saw, but only the ending bit. Never having watched it before, or knowing who Simmons was, I was INSANELY gung-ho for him to win the Title, and loved it when he did. Now THAT'S effective wrestling psychology.
ReplyDeleteIt also feels more "realistic", in that, well, THEY don't know when the shows should end, should they?
ReplyDeleteECW came on Fridays at midnight here. Lil' Eejit Biscuit forgot that meant the recording actually was at 12:00 *Saturday* that first week.
ReplyDeleteI like how WWE celebrates black history month by showing the awesome stuff black wrestlers did when they weren't being booked by Vince.
ReplyDeleteAlso he feuded with Luger for the World title in late 91.
ReplyDeleteI agree, could have cut down, a lot of repeat info but I do think Jericho deserved a spotlight as he was a clear case of a guy who got over huge with fans in WCW, could have become a major draw for them and they just ignored him so he goes to WWF and becomes big.
ReplyDeleteAnd I did like how he talks about his rough treatment at first but obvious he still preferred it to being in WCW one more day.
Paige was *born* on this date. That's how old this show is.
ReplyDeleteI just beat the absolute living shit out of my jerkoff brother. About time too, I've bee waiting for over 10 years to collect that debt, I just got PAID.
ReplyDeleteWell, they did buy out World Class and moved into Texas, but Jarrett eventually cut his losses there.
ReplyDeleteFor something that didn't work on a national stage there sure was a whole lot of Memphis TV influences on Raw in 1997-98.
ReplyDeleteDisagree. By the time Crockett's business bottomed out he wasn't drawing in the South either.
ReplyDeleteThat was around February of '92, and was a Kip Frey thing (and also the debut of the name "WCW Saturday Night"--before then it was simply World Championship Wrestling going back to '85). They repackaged the show with guest hosts (either old wrestlers, football players Ross knew, the singer for Alabama, or Riki Rachtmann) and adopted a quasi-TNT format...with a long 2/3 fall main event every week. Thus we had a sports-entertainmenty newsmagazine type wrestling show but with a guest host like Rachtmann or Bill Fralic then doing commentary on a long, dry, 30-45 minute, 2/3 fall technical match. Talk about a collision of ideas.
ReplyDeleteFor one thing I'm pretty sure this match was inserted from another card, since this show glosses over Jake Roberts taking out Sting.
ReplyDelete...and headlined Halloween Havoc '91 with a great match against Luger.
ReplyDeleteAll the same night. I don't think it actually aired as a regular episode of television, it was shown in bits and pieces as sort of a "breaking story."
ReplyDeleteMy nan did it for me. She'd always get the closing credits of Prisoner Cell Block H on there too. I remember it starting at all kinds of weird times, and sometimes it'd be an hour, sometimes it'd be 35 minutes. We moved to Scotland in 92 and it didn't air on the ITV up there at all. :(
ReplyDeleteI love this era of WCW. It's just nostalgia probably, but I find myself saying that about most eras of WCW. For most of that time though I'm pretty sure I thought it was crap compared to my beloved WWF. Guess I didn't appreciate it until it was too late. Sorry WCW!
ReplyDeleteWhy DID ITV give WCW such a horrible timeslot? Wresting was huge here in 92. It was one of Sky's biggest draws. Why not make the most of their WCW deal? Cut up episodes of Worldwide or Power Hower in the middle of the night? That's crazy!
ReplyDeleteFor me SuperBrawl, Bash at the Beach, Halloween Havoc and Starrcade were all on the same level. And I wish WWE would bring them back instead of Extreme Rules or Battleground.
ReplyDeleteDoes Bobby Eaton feel no shame about spending an entire career standing mute during interview sessions?
ReplyDeleteKids these days don't know how easy they have it! One click recording, series links, watching shows on tablets and phones. Even at 11 years old I was more tech savvy than my parents so it was down to me to program the VCR and DAMN it was like rocket science.
ReplyDeleteI know! My memory is hazy, but we weren't talking midnight here. Wasn't it like 2 or 3am?
ReplyDeleteWrestlers who stick in my mind from that era are guys like Stunning Steve, Beautiful Bobby, Marcus Bagwell and... PN News! YO BABY YO BABY YO!
With our original VCR I think I abandoned programming all together and just got my dad to press record before he went to bed, leaving the VCR to fill up a 4 hour tape. This would of course mean fast-forwarding through hours of garbage to get to the wrestling. I recall American Gladiators also aired in the middle of the night in 1992.
ReplyDeleteI reckon everyone with a VCR in the 90's did that at least once. Coming down the next day to find out your show hadn't recorded was THE WORST.
ReplyDeleteFirst world problems.
I thought it was a lesser product than WWF, but I still liked it. I bought WCW magazine every month for a while in 1991-92.
ReplyDeleteWCW wrestling figures were WAYYYYY behind WWF at this stage though. They were awful.
Glad the little black kid in the front row losing his shit after the Simmons win got a mention. One of my favorite random wrestling fans
ReplyDeleteI thought it was the same episode every time I watched it.
ReplyDeleteThey basically felt like one company couldn't have two world titles.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they ever recognized the rebooted NWA title as a world title either. They definitely didn't recognize the "International World" title's
You seem like an angry young man.
ReplyDeleteWindham vs Anderson 2/3 falls for the tv is a lost classic... and the Nikita v Larry Z 2/3 falls match is really good to
ReplyDeleteIt was all the same night, August 2... it was a tv taping with an advertised main event of Sting vs Vader for the title... after Roberts attacked Sting on the first match of the night they ran the lottery angle etc.
ReplyDeleteTonight, to celebrate black history month, the WWF debut of Ron Simmons wearing a turquoise gladiator outfit.
ReplyDeleteVader was the first heel I cheered for. To the point that I almost got in a fight at school because I said I didn't really care who won between Sting and Vader when they were feuding over the world title.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I'm shocked he didn't get like 4-5 WWF title runs.
GET IN THE RING, CHUMP, AND LET'S BUMP!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I totally forgot about American Gladiators. They were some great times.
ReplyDeleteWCW figures were the first ones I got! I do recall them being very simple kinda rubbery things, not like the colourful plastic WWF ones. And my Sting figure came with his arms up in a bicep pose, which made play fighting really difficult. Not as bad as my stupid Hulk Hogan bearhug figure, but still an obstacle to realistic simulated combat.
ReplyDeleteAye, I definitely remember it being between 2 and 3 sometimes. I think it was part of ITV Night Shift or something, their middle of the night programming group.
ReplyDeleteRealy? Did they update the archives from Raw that much this week? Last I checked we were in the beginning of June, this would take us to the end of July, no?
ReplyDeleteThen a few weeks away from the tapings I attended in 1996 (JR's HEEL TURN! I loved that shit!).
The MVC didn't have any title belts with them when they came out, so I think this match was taped before they won the belts.
ReplyDeleteBut it was fantastic.
I typically have to reload the Black History stuff two or three times before it'll work. I thought it was just a Roku problem but I'm glad to know it's the ineptitude of the Network guys instead.
ReplyDeleteThey should show all of Koko B. Ware's wins.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that 2/3 falls gimmick was fun, but as with a lot of gimmicks WCW came up with to distinguish themselves from Vince they dropped it pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteJohn Cena is my age.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Bryan is three years younger.
FUCK I'M OLD.
Yeah, but it was wierd. Like the Baltimore show was a TV taping, (it's clearly where the Windham and Van Hammer squashes came from), but instead of treating it that way (i.e., the first episode Sting gets "injured" by Jake, then the next week Simmons wins the belt), they basically announced all this stuff happened in Baltimore, then showed it as "highlights" over the same two weeks.
ReplyDeleteBut that's WCW for you.
Those Mid-South episodes do that.
ReplyDeleteIt's a different time today, they would never dare to do that.
Simmons hardly lost. It was believable.
ReplyDeleteI was joking
ReplyDeleteWhat organization is that?
ReplyDeleteThey showed wcw on Saturday afternoons for a little while too. Oddly, to me as a child, the fact that it was on free tv (as well as only wwf figures being available in the local toyshop) gave me the impression that it was some kind of knockoff promotion.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, here's Bobby Eaton!
ReplyDeleteBobby: ...........
Thanks, Bobby!
I want to go find that interview Bobby did before one of his two title matches against Flair in... 1990, IIRC.
ReplyDeleteIt was ALMOST Jumpin' Jeff Farmer bad.
Details please!
ReplyDeleteTrue but you could have put that into another episode about talent squandered instead of a full show.
ReplyDeleteTrue and that was about it as far as I remember. Jarrett always came off as one of the smartest guys in wrestling.
ReplyDeleteWell with Lawler on the payroll it's not that surprising.
ReplyDeleteIn 1996, 1997 and 1998, Starrcade was hyped as the biggest event of the year
ReplyDeleteI remember when they were first building Vader in WCW with the full mask and ram helmet they would put him in handicap matches. I loved him from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteIf HHH's World Heavyweight Cosplay Championship held by Khali/Swagger/Kane can be recognized as a World title, so can a belt held by Flair/Rude/Hase/Sting and defended in multiple main events.
ReplyDeleteThe R-Truth.
ReplyDeleteOne of the gimmicks in EWR, IIRC.
ReplyDeletewhy? it would just be similar to those weird "Great American Bash" shows they did for a few years.
ReplyDeleteBy the time this show aired, I had been watching WCW/JCP/Mid-Atlantic Wrestling for 17 years, back to the era of Johnny Valentine, Ole & Gene Anderson and Mr. Wrestling.
ReplyDeleteI think during the days of the territories it made sense to have a "world champion" that was more than just a "regional champion".
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure at least after a few years a lot of people didn't even make that connection to WCW anymore.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yea, I think that's how Saturday Night showed it. So I guess when I first watched it, I never saw the full match
ReplyDeleteWhy not? Still better than their generic Battle Lane Ground Bragging Rights Payback events without a history.
ReplyDeleteit really makes no difference besides very likely producing lacklustre events with a "traditional" name (this is different from utilizing ideas that at least potentially could turn out good, like bringing back the War Games match).
ReplyDeleteThey were wearing the tag belts in the match on this show...I'm watching it now, and they came out wearing them under their robes.
ReplyDeleteObviously the network needs Puppet H!
ReplyDeletenever once on US TV but I refer to them as that since I like Scott...
ReplyDeleteBut don't we complain, that all shows are looking similar? With the name of the PPV they would surely change the look of it.
ReplyDeleteI thought '92 WWF was SOOO boring--the panel version of Prime Time is possibly the most antiseptic, colorless wrestling show of its generation, even with Heenan. With WCW it felt like anything could happen on any given show.
ReplyDeleteNot opposed to the 2/3 fall matches at all (another lost good one is Arn wrestling Big Josh for 45 minutes), but combining those two formats was weird, weird, weird.
ReplyDeleteAh, the ol' "standby matches." Watts could be set in his ways but I admire the man for having a solid and determined vision for the way wrestling "should" be. A bad or disagreeable plan is generally better than no plan.
ReplyDeleteno they won't. it's the same video wall for every ppv (other than WrestleMania), no matter which one. changing the name would do nothing about that.
ReplyDeleteIn the middle of that you can actually hear Teddy Long say "Stay tuned to see Ron Simmons win the World Heavyweight Title." Who announces that shit?
ReplyDeleteI was always a WCW>WWF guy until around 98ish.
ReplyDeleteIn the U.S. here but I still remember my dad trying to program our VCR to tape the 1988 NWA Bunkhouse Stampede. 9 year old me was heartbroken to wake up the next day to find three hours of the Weather Channel had taped instead! Have no idea why VCRs were so damn complicated at that time.
ReplyDeleteBe careful of his Ghostbuster!
ReplyDeleteSimmons winning is one of my top five favorite moments in wrestling. Nice little angle to set it up too
ReplyDeleteEric Bischoff was the catalyst for WCW to receive better international distribution. In fact when he met with Billionaire Ted he stated (take it with a grain of salt) that he was prepared to infiltrate China with distribution rights.
ReplyDeleteDo agree, think putting it all in chronological order would have been better but guess they thought going by subject easier to handle.
ReplyDeleteif all the organizations back a single world champion that would tour, then each territory could get an easy attendance spike for an event each time the champion came through
ReplyDeleteThey'd switch to a more 'Southern' looking font if they started running with more old WCW names. Something more serif. That'd be about it.
ReplyDeleteI know. The idea of some kind of Union of 50 or so different regions of America is one that is clearly doomed to fail, whether sooner or later, you've said it!
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, WCW isn't around anymore to go to instead for a job...
ReplyDelete